The Boston Red Sox have been in freefall ever since their 2018 World Series title, but 2021 is going to be a big year for them in proving they can turn the ship around and get back to winning consistently.
They’ve already taken a big step in bringing back their 2018 World Series-winning manager in Alex Cora after his suspension tied to his involvement with the Red Sox/Astros sign stealing scandals expired. Now they need to make the comeback on the field. It won’t be easy as the AL East looks pretty good as of this moment, but the Boston Red Sox possess a lineup that can contend with just about any lineup in baseball.
Breaking down the Boston Red Sox pitching staff
The question as to which direction this Red Sox team goes in 2021 will be answered by way of how their pitching staff performs. It’s by far the Red Sox’s weakness, but can this pitching staff hold its own in 2021? Let’s take a look at the Boston staff.
I have found that in Boston’s case more than just about any other team in baseball’s, there is a divide between what the “data” says and what the “eye test” says, and we can see it with this Boston team just as much as, or even more than the other 29 teams in baseball.
Put simply, the eye test says this Boston staff is pretty loaded but the data suggest otherwise. And the guys on this Red Sox staff who stand out in data-driven measurements like Statcast are not the guys you expect.
Let’s start with the Boston rotation. Chris Sale is going to be back at some point this season after recovering from Tommy John surgery and he’s undoubtedly a big question mark heading into any sort of competitive environment- mostly because of the bad taste we got from him the last time we saw him pitch.
Our most recent memory of Sale is him struggling with his command, losing velocity and bite on his pitches, and obviously pitching through what turned out to be a serious arm injury.
Conventional wisdom says life after Tommy John can be beneficial to the pitcher it was performed on, but there will always be a question mark attached to that pitcher until they can fully prove they are over their troubles.
Sale is going to miss some time this year, which is going to put the Sox behind the eight ball from the get-go, but if he can come back, keep himself healthy, and get back to the Chris Sale we all know him to be, the Red Sox’ rotation and overall staff are both going to step up their games with him at the lead.
Then we have the rest of the Boston Red Sox rotation that I have mixed feelings about.