Boston Red Sox: 3 issues Chaim Bloom must address this offseason
By John Hynes
Bloom should call for reinforcements in the in the Boston Red Sox starting rotation.
In 2022 the Red Sox had a dreadful ERA of 4.53 which ranked second worst in the American League. Between a battered rotation and a bullpen that many didn’t trust even before the season began, it was no surprise that Boston struggled navigating the league’s better lineups and closing out games.
The Red Sox are moving into the offseason likely with two starting jobs up for grabs assuming Chris Sale, Brayan Bello, and Garret Whitlock are all in the rotation come opening day.
Two 2022 starters have expiring contracts this offseason in Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Wacha, who turned out to be a solid contributor for this team posting a 3.32 ERA in his one-year stint with the club.
Ideally, Bloom could bring back Wacha for an affordable price, and then look to spend on a higher tier arm such as Chris Bassitt or Carlos Rodon.
A couple acquisitions coupled with the return of Sale and emergence of Bello could make for a rotation that would be hard to exploit even for the best lineups in baseball.
Boston Red Sox bullpen could also use some revamping
The bullpen is also in desperate need of help as Boston had the sixth most blown saves in the MLB. The Red Sox this year found themselves time and time again either short on arms or in a situation where they had nobody trustworthy to finish a game off.
While this was a concern heading into 2022, Bloom did little to address it with low-cost signings like Matt Strahm and Jake Diekman that never panned out.
Hopefully, Bloom will look to avoid similar struggles and pay up for a closer and potentially another reliever in addition. However, the Red Sox shouldn’t look to spend top dollar on a closer like Edwin Diaz. It would be wiser to go a tier below and spread the costs amongst multiple arms that are more reliable than the options Alex Cora had in 2022.
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2022 was huge disappointment and will be viewed as a failure for Chaim Bloom. With that being said, this roster is not far off from being a legitimate contender and if the front office can aid these weaknesses, the Red Sox will be right back on top.