The Boston Red Sox enter the 2014 Major League Baseball season as reigning World Series champions and winners of three pennants in the last 10 years. Long gone is the Curse of the Bambino, and the team’s recent championships effectively exorcised any remaining demons from the club’s chicken and beer fiasco. Free of such weighty baggage, the Sox are currently navigating spring training with the same goal as every other franchise: field a winning ball club. Will they be able to repeat this year as champions? The answer to that question will depend greatly upon the ability of young players and new additions to replace departed faces at centerfield, catcher and shortstop.
The Pink Hose will be relying on a duo of highly talented young players to replace successful veterans at two key positions. Homegrown former all-star centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury departed in the offseason after inking a seven-year, $153 million deal with the New York Yankees, while incumbent shortstop Steven Drew was left unsigned by Boston after his original one-year pact ran out following the World Series. Slotted to take their places are Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts, respectively.
Bradley broke into last year’s spring camp with the big club after lighting up the Grapefruit League but failed to hit above .200 in the majors. Ellsbury, the man he will be replacing, had a career .297 average over his seven seasons with the Red Sox, in addition to his blistering speed that helped him set the franchise record for stolen bases with 70 in 2009. Even after discounting Ellsbury’s 32 home runs in 2011 as an exception from his usual performance, it is unlikely that Bradley will immediately step in and match his predecessor’s production. On the positive side, he presents a long-term option that will come at a significantly lower price, providing General Manager Ben Cherington financial flexibility as he fills out the rest of the roster.
Bogaerts, on the other hand, is more than a cost-effective piece and has the potential to outstrip his predecessor Drew. Last year, Drew hit a paltry .253 with 13 home runs and 67 RBI’s, offering most of his value with his glove. Meanwhile, the player charged with replacing him is the consensus second-best prospect in the MLB. After a brief stint in the Bigs at the end of last season and into the postseason, the youngster from Aruba showed poise befitting a veteran and contributed on baseball’s greatest stage en route to earning a World Series ring. Following that display, one can see why the Sox feel confident in naming him their starting shortstop, for this season and far beyond. On balance, these changes — an upgrade at shortstop and the possibility for growth and development in center — appear to hold these positions at roughly the same level where they ended this past season.
Despite starting pitcher Ryan Dempster’s decision to sit out this coming season — and leave $13.25 million on the table — the team’s starting rotation is still strong. Jon Lester, John Lackey, Clay Bucholz and Jake Peavy cruised through the postseason, and such performances portend positive outcomes for this coming year. But they will be throwing to a different backstop. After three and a half seasons, the Sox decided to move on from 28-year-old catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia in favor of 37-year-old A.J. Pierzynski. Since the players posted comparable 2013 campaigns — .273 BA, 14 HR and 65 RBI for Saltalamacchia versus .272 BA, 17 HR and 70 RBI for Pierzynski — the move seems questionable on the surface, given that Pierzynski is nine years older than Saltalamacchia. While the latter had been improving in each of his seasons in Boston, the former has been slowly declining with age.
Pierzynski, known as one of the most hated men in baseball, is assuredly not the catcher of the future for this franchise, with top catching prospect and defensive wiz Christian Vazquez appearing to be on the fast track to the majors. Management must hope that Pierzynski can replicate Salty’s numbers over the course of his one-year contract while Vazquez develops his offensive skill set. Expect a slight drop-off offensively at catcher as the Red Sox appear to be using a stopgap at this position until the future arrives.
Several additional factors remain to determine the ultimate fate of this newest edition of the Red Sox. Will last year’s walk-off kids return, or will regression to normal luck bring their late game heroics back to earth? Young third baseman Will Middlebrooks will be entrusted with the hot corner and must provide more consistent offensive production than his boom or bust bat has yielded to date. Overall the team looks as if it will return to start this coming season as strong as it finished the last.
New players will have to keep their end of the bargain, but there is no reason a deep playoff run is not in the cards. Though Opening Day is still 24 days away, I predict that the Red Sox will repeat as AL East champions and advance as far as the American League Championship Series.
Jack Blasberg ’16 has never left $13.25 million on the table. Give him the opportunity at john_blasberg@brown.edu.
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