2020 record - 24-36, 5th place in AL East
Key Addition - Enrique Hernandez
Hernandez signed with Boston as a free agent on a 2 year $14m contract, coming fresh from a World Series victory with the Dodgers. Hernandez immediately offers the Red Sox something that they didn't have a lot of last year - versatility. Last year alone, Hernandez played 1B, 2B, SS, all OF positions and DH. His ability to play any position, other than pitcher or catcher will be a big help for the Red Sox this season. He's not a slouch with the bat either.
We think that he will hit around .240 with 15 home runs and 55 RBI in 2021.
Just missed out - Adam Ottavino, Garrett Richards, Marwin Gonzalez
Key Departure - Jackie Bradley Jr.
Although Bradley Jr. still remains unsigned at the time of writing, we're going to assume that he doesn't re-sign with the Red Sox. Although while it's still possible he returns to Boston, we think it's unlikely because of the length of contract he is said to be asking for. Jackie Bradley Jr. had probably his best season so far in 2020. His .283 average was his career high and he was on pace to get career highs in hits and walks. That's not an easy assumption to make though. Either way, Boston will likely miss him in their outfield if he doesn't re-sign for this season.
Their other outfield options - other than the locked in Verdugo - are Franchy Cordero and Hunter Renfroe who both had a WAR of exactly zero in 2020.
Just missed out - Andrew Benintendi
Notable rookie cards - Bobby Dalbec
Dalbec came up to join the Red Sox for 23 games in 2020 and hit an impressive 8 home runs in 80 at bats. He'll be wanting to cut down on his strikeout numbers though (39), but I doubt Boston will complain too much if he keeps hitting dingers.
He's expected to be the incumbent first baseman in Beantown going into the 2021 season and it's not unrealistic to expect him to home runs in the high 20's with 70 RBI.
He is the sole member of the Red Sox to have a rookie card in the Topps 2021 set.
Predicted 2021 Team MVP - Rafael Devers
Devers got off to a slow start in 2020, and with the shortened season, it was always going to be difficult for him to get his numbers back up to where they were in 2019. He finished with a much stronger final month of the season though, which is enough to give us hope that he'll be just fine this season. The biggest question around Devers though is his glove and whether he's good enough defensively to stick around at 3B. His fielding % at 3B last year was a painful .891. How he performs in 2021 will likely go a long way towards deciding whether he remains at the hot corner.
Player to watch for the future - Jeter Downs
Downs - the #2 Red Sox prospect in their farm system, and 49th overall according to MLB Pipeline - was part of the package that Boston received for Mookie Betts & David Price in early 2020. He played just a handful of games at AA in the Dodger organisation in 2019 so he's still realistically another year away from making it to Fenway. The middle infielder looks likely to be playing more 2B with Xander Bogaerts cemented at shortstop for the big league club, but Downs has huge potential as a hitter. Hopefully the cancelled minor league season last year doesn't delay his development or his arrival in Boston.
Just missed out - Tristan Casas, Bryan Mata and the brilliantly named Jarren Duran - will he be hungry like the wolf to make it to the Majors? Sorry.
Storyline to keep an eye on - How well their starting pitchers can return from injury
Boston ace Chris Sale missed the whole of the 2020 season after having Tommy John surgery. He's currently on the 60 day IL but the Red Sox are said to be hopeful of a return somewhere around the All-Star break. Obviously they'll manage his innings very carefully but it'll be interesting to see whether he shows signs of being the lights out pitcher he was before his surgery or whether he loses some velocity.
Eduardo Rodriguez is another pitcher to look out for as he looks to return following a heart condition resulting from COVID-19 in July which kept him out for the year. Perhaps best known to UK fans for starting the second game of the London Series, Rodriguez had an excellent 2019 when he finished 6th in the Cy Young voting. Again, he'll be closely monitored by Red Sox staff and we hope he'll be able to build on his successes from 2019.
We wish them both well in their recovery and hope to see them both back on the mound soon.
Prediction for 2021 - 4th in AL East
We think that the Red Sox have gotten better as a club overall but their problem is that the Yankees and Blue Jays have gotten much better too, which means that they are unlikely to challenge for the division in 2021. They have improved their pitching, and if the above-mentioned Sale & Rodriguez can make a healthy return, we think that they can make a push for the wild card and flirt with .500 but ultimately will come up short.
Do you agree with our predictions? Or have we got them horribly wrong?
Let us know in the comments or on twitter.
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