Failed Red Sox season puts pressure on front office to fulfill new promises in 2025
The Boston Red Sox improved on their 2023 season by being completely average. The 81-81 Sox were in playoff contention with four games remaining and finished above their record of 78-84 in the past two seasons.
The Red Sox’s record sat at .500 25 times this season. They began the season average, and it ended that way. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t some outstanding performances in the mix.
Jarren Duran’s season is worthy of MVP consideration. Rafael Devers was on the way to one of the best campaigns of his career before his shoulder injuries flared up. Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford all took steps toward becoming staples of Boston’s pitching staff by making at least 30 starts each. Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu posted great rookie seasons, with David Hamilton not far behind. Rob Refsnyder posted a breakout campaign at 33 years old and Tyler O’Neill reinvigorated his career.
The Red Sox needed all of those unlikely things to happen to get to .500. They could’ve been much better if their bats and pitchers played well simultaneously — one often made up for poor performances of the other. Through the ups and downs of the offense and pitching staff and horrendous defense all season, Boston’s severe lack of capable, big-league-ready depth became clear. It’ll need more experienced players to get anywhere near the postseason in 2025.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, CEO and president Sam Kennedy and manager Alex Cora seemed keen to address the team’s deficiencies at the end-of-season press conference held on Sept. 30.
“I think, where [we’re] going is gonna be fun and I’ve been saying it all along the last two weeks. . . I truly believe this is the last struggle,” Cora said. “I think this is it. There were some positives, there were a lot of negatives, but I think where we’re going as an organization, it’s going to be fun again.”
