Boston Red Sox: 3 offseason missteps that have contributed to lost season

For all intents and purposes, the Boston Red Sox 2022 season is over. After last night’s blowout loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Red Sox sit seven games out of the final American League wild card spot. They haven’t shown much to make fans believe that deficit is one they can overcome.

There are still 39 games left on the season, so they aren’t techinically out of it yet, but it doesn’t take a mathematician to know that their postseason odds are low. With the Sox 2022 season all but over, let’s take a look at three moves made this past offseason that have contributed to what has quickly become a lost season in Boston.

Boston Red Sox offseason misstep No. 3: Letting Kyle Schwarber walk in free agency

The 2021 Boston Red Sox made one of the better moves at the trade deadline by picking up Kyle Schwarber from the Washington Nationals. The deal was initially panned because Schwarber didn’t have a true fit in the field, and he was on the injured list at the time of the trade. But Schwarber ended up being a fine fit in Boston’s lineup, and was a key part of their postseason success.

Schwarber was known to be a potential rental, and it wasn’t necessarily to see the Sox lose him in free agency. Schwarber really projects best as a designated hitter, so when J.D. Martinez opted into the final year of his deal, it clouded up Schwarber’s potential return. Bobby Dalbec also had a strong second half of the season at first base, so platooning him with Schwarber didn’t make much sense.

Schwarber is hitting just .212 for the Philadelphia Phillies this season, but he has the second most home runs in the MLB right now with 34. That’s more than Martinez and Dalbec combined, and both have been massive disappointments this season. The Sox had good reason to let Schwarber walk, but given how the 2022 season has gone for all sides so far, it’s a glaring mistake in retrospect.