A new year has arrived, and after a seemingly endless cycle of the same old thing, there’s finally reason to believe 2025 might bring meaningful change for the Red Sox.
The club has already begun acting on its promise to be more aggressive heading into the new season, but the proof won’t be in the pudding until the Red Sox actually take the field.
So what are some things we want to see out of the club in 2025? Here are a few New Year’s resolutions the Red Sox should follow if they want to make this coming year one to remember.
Pitch deeper into games
One of the roots of Boston’s struggles these past few years has been the starting rotation’s collective inability to pitch deep into games. Between injuries and lack of depth, there have been too many occasions where starters haven’t pitched into the sixth. That’s played a big part in burning out the bullpen, eventually contributing to the club’s annual second-half collapse.
The good news is last year marked a notable step forward.
In 2022, the Red Sox ranked 21st in innings pitched by starters, coming in at 807.2, or about 5.0 innings per start. In 2023, the club dropped to 27th, tossing 774.1 innings and averaging closer to 4.2 per outing. Last year the Red Sox jumped up to 16th, throwing 839.2 innings at an average clip of 5.1 per start. That means, for the first time in years, the club’s starters were usually at least pitching into the sixth inning.
Now, with Garrett Crochet on board and the club’s young starters more established, the expectation should be getting through six innings every time. Do that, and the club should be well positioned to win night in and night out.
Quit blowing late leads
If you’re looking for a singular reason why last year’s Red Sox missed the playoffs, the bullpen’s complete collapse in the second half is a good place to start.
Last season the Red Sox blew 31 saves, second most in MLB behind only the wretched White Sox. The bullpen’s collective ERA of 4.39 was seventh worst in the sport, and in the second half that number ballooned to 5.45, by far the worst in MLB and a half-run higher than the next closest team (Cincinnati, 4.95).
That can’t happen again, so whether it’s through a boost in front-end talent, improved depth, better health or all of the above, the Red Sox need to be make sure they aren’t letting so many late leads slip away in 2025.
Better defense, please!
Last year the Red Sox led the league in unearned runs (95) and ranked second in errors (115). Incredibly, both of those things happened despite the Red Sox having perhaps the best defensive outfield in the sport.
Whatever it takes, the club needs a lot more from its infield.
Getting a full year out of Trevor Story will make a world of difference. He’s been so snake-bitten by injury, and mostly pretty fluky ones, that he’s got to catch a break sooner or later, right? Having Story ensconced at shortstop will make everyone else’s life in the infield much easier, and no matter who else is playing around him, the Red Sox should see immediate results.
Beyond that, the club has to make some kind of decision on whether Rafael Devers will remain at third base and how any potential newcomers might fit into the puzzle. Either way, infield defense has been among the club’s fatal flaws for too long, and this year the Red Sox need that to change.
Finish strong
It seems like over the past three years every Red Sox season has followed a familiar script. The club starts off better than expected, holds its own and picks up some impressive victories throughout the first half. By summer the club finds itself in playoff position, but then things go awry, and after the trade deadline the Red Sox find themselves steadily fading before crashing out entirely over the final weeks in September.
The numbers don’t lie. Since 2022 the Red Sox have gone 149-131 (.532) in the first half but only 88-118 (.427) after the All-Star break, and in each of those three seasons the club has finished no better than nine games below .500 in the second half.
It doesn’t have to be that way. The Detroit Tigers showed this past summer that even when you seemingly have nothing to play for, it’s still possible to go on a run. The Tigers had already sold at the trade deadline and had playoff odds of just 0.8% on Aug. 22, and yet from that point onwards they went 24-6 to finish the season and earn an improbable Wild Card berth.
Hopefully the Red Sox won’t find themselves in such dire straits, but however things play out, it would be great to see the club finish the season on an upwards trajectory for once.
Less talking, more action
Following the Red Sox has been maddening these past few years, and a big part of why is everything written above could have just as easily applied to the 2023 and 2024 versions of this piece.
These aren’t new problems, and yet for three straight years the club has failed to address them. Big surprise then that the Red Sox keep getting the same results.
If the Red Sox are going to turn things around and level up into serious playoff contenders, they need to back up their words with action. The first step will be assembling a strong enough roster to compete, which the front office has already made great progress doing. The second step will be translating those offseason wins into actual wins in the regular season, which can’t be taken as a given and will depend on the players staying healthy and performing to their highest potential.
The Red Sox have been mediocre for long enough. Hopefully 2025 will be the year the Red Sox finally get back to being the force they should have been all along.
