The Boston Red Sox are in freefall mode. The team lost Alex Bregman in free agency last offseason, and they are already feeling the effects. After nine games and a series loss to the San Diego Padres over the weekend, the Red Sox are 2-7 to start the season and have fallen to last place in the American League East.
Boston is also five games back of the first place New York Yankees. It’s still early in the season, but there is cause for concern in Red Sox nation. A lot can change as the season progresses, but the Red Sox just have not found their groove just yet.
After being ranked No. 7 in last week’s power rankings courtesy of MLB.com, Boston has fallen to 18th.
“A 2-7 start is less than ideal for a Red Sox team trying to win an ultra-competitive AL East division,” Brent Maguire wrote. “It’s early, but you can already feel the unrest about the Red Sox being five games back of the Yankees in early April.”
Boston Red Sox Fall in Power Rankings
Things are not looking good for the Red Sox. Surprisingly, they have fallen to the bottom of a very crowded division.
They are certainly feeling the effects of Alex Bregman’s departure. They were unable to bring back the slugger, who ultimately signed a five-year, $175 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. This has led to some offensive struggles for the Red Sox.
They are tied with the Colorado Rockies with 30 runs scored, the second fewest in Major League Baseball. Only the San Francisco Giants have scored fewer runs, having put up just 26 through their first 10 games of the season.
It’s going to take a lot of improvement offensively for the Red Sox to ultimately bounce back into contention before it’s too late. They will have to do it quickly, or else they will be buried in a very competitive and challenging division.
If they are unable to turn things around quick, then they may end up being quick sellers at the trade deadline. There is still a lot of talent on Boston’s roster, but it is wasting that talent with such a bad start to the season.
There is still time for them to turn things around, so it will be interesting to see if they can actually figure things out and get themselves going in the right direction again. The roster is capable of more wins than this.
Red Sox at Inflection Point
Boston has a lot of young talent, but their window to win appears to be stuck. They don’t have enough superstars to build around and supplement that young core.
And so, they are at a critical juncture. If they can’t bounce back into contention, then perhaps they will end up being sellers at the trade deadline. That could ultimately signal the start of a rebuild and a total focus on youth rather than making an effort to contend.
A lot needs to change quick for the Red Sox to avoid that.
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