MLB Offseason Preview - Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

American League	East Division
93-69 Won Division	Lost in the AL Division Series 3-0 to the Cleveland Indians
Manager: John Farrell	GM: Vacant President: Dave Dombrowski
AAA Affiliate Pawtucket Red Sox	AA Affiliate Portland Sea Dogs

2016 Rankings

Hitting	AVG – 1st	OPS – 1st	Runs – 1st	HR – 9th	SB – 13th
Starting Pitching	ERA – 8th	K/9 – 11th	H/9 – 7th
Relief Pitching	ERA – 8th	K/9 – 5th	H/9 – 8th

Top Hitters

POS.	Name	AVG	OBP	Slug	HR	RBIs	SB	WAR
RF	Mookie Betts	.318	.363	.534	31	113	26	9.6
2B	Dustin Pedroia	.318	.376	.449	15	74	7	5.6
CF	Jackie Bradley Jr	.267	.349	.486	26	87	9	5.3

Top Pitchers

POS.	Name	G/GS	Record	IP/Saves	ERA	K	BB	ERA+	WAR
SP	Rick Porcello	33 GS	22-4	223.0 IP	3.15	189	32	145	5.0
SP	David Price	35 GS	17-9	230.0 IP	3.99	228	50	114	3.0
SP	Steven Wright	24 GS	13-6	156.2 IP	3.33	127	57	137	2.1

Trades that the Red Sox Completed

• Traded SS Wendell Rijo and SP Aaron Wilkerson to Milwaukee for INF Aaron Hill
• Traded P Jose Almonte and OF Luis Basabe to Arizona for RP Brad Ziegler
• Traded SP Anderson Espinoza to San Diego for SP Drew Pomeranz
• Traded P Pat Light to Minnesota for RP Ferando Abad

Impending Free Agents

• INF Aaron Hill
• RP Koji Uehara
• RP Brad Ziegler
• C Ryan Hanigan
• RP Junichi Tazawa
• SS Josh Rutledge 

Top Prospects

POS.	Name	Level
2B/3B	Yoan Moncada	AA
OF	Andrew Benintendi	MLB
3B	Rafael Devers	A+
P	Jason Groome	A-
SP	Michael Kopech	A+

Team MVP

• I am picking starter Rick Porcello for this because, in my opinion, without Porcello there is no way that the Red Sox would have made the playoffs this season, much less won the AL East. Mookie Betts also could have been picked as the team's MVP, but even if Betts hadn't had as good of a year as he did, the Red Sox lineup was deep enough to make up for that.  Porcello put together what was, by far, the best season of his career.  He had career bests in many categories, including wins, losses, ERA, starts, complete games, innings pitched, walks, strikeouts, ERA +, FIP, and WHIP.  Porcello ended up winning the AL Cy Young Award in controversial fashion, beating out Detroit's Justin Verlander, who had a similar season and actually received more first place votes than Porcello.  2016 was Porcello's second season in Boston and pitched much better than he did in 2015, actually becoming Boston's ace, despite them signing David Price to a very expensive and lengthy contract last offseason.  Perhaps most interesting about Porcello is that he is just 27 years old and the Red Sox have him under contract through 2019, meaning they have an anchor for their rotation for the next few years.

Success/Failure

• Success - After back-to-back last place finishes in the AL East in 2014 and 2015, the Red Sox won the division.  Their lineup came together to become the best in baseball, finishing first in the majors in batting average, on-base plus slugging, and runs.  They got bounce back seasons from Hanley Ramirez and Dustin Pedroia, and saw Jackie Bradley Jr finally live up to expectations.  Mookie Betts put together an MVP-caliber season as a five-tool player and looks to be the future of the Red Sox lineup and Xander Bogaerts was once again one of the best shortstops in baseball, winning a Silver Slugger Award.  Lastly, David Ortiz had the best final season for a player in baseball history, leading the league in doubles, RBIs, and slugging percentage, proving he can still be a serious threat in any lineup. Their only questionable position was third base, where Travis Shaw started the season as their everyday third baseman, but lost the job to Brock Holt.  They also called up top ten overall prospect, Andrew Benintendi late in the season and he became their starting left fielder and played a significant role down the stretch.  Their starting rotation was rough all season long and struggled to come together despite giving David Price a $217 million contract last offseason.  Price struggled this season, but appeared to pitch better as the season progressed.  Porcello ended up being the team's ace and they got a surprising season from knuckle baller Steven Wright.  They also traded for Drew Pomeranz, who pitched alright for them after the trade, but pitched well out of the bullpen down the stretch and in the playoffs.  Their bullpen surprisingly came together after acquiring Brad Ziegler, despite the struggles from Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara, and Craig Kimbrel for most of the season.  One of the best parts of the Red Sox season was that their farm system still remains one of the best, with the number one overall prospect still in their system in Yoan Moncada.

Offseason Outlook

• There isn't a lot for the Red Sox to do this offseason, except bring in someone to replace David Ortiz at DH.  Luckily for them, Edwin Encarnacion is available and seems to be interested in signing with Boston.  This would be an excellent fit for both sides, as Edwin is a right-handed hitter who would make the Monster an asset for himself/  They will have to figure out what they're going to do at third base, which looks to be Brock Holt's for the time being, unless Pablo Sandoval can prove himself, because Yoan Moncada doesn't appear to be ready for the majors quite yet.  I think that the Red Sox would be served well to acquire another starter for their rotation and perhaps trading for Tampa Bay's Chris Archer or the White Sox Chris Sale.  I think re-signing Brad Ziegler would be a good move for them to replace the loss of Uehara or Tazawa. Closer Craig Kimbrel should be better next season at the back end of their bullpen, which would help strengthen this problem area for the team.  The immediate future looks great for the team with a strong and deep lineup coming back and they should also have a pretty good rotation if Price can return to his career norms.  They will also be good in the future, with a top ten farm system and the future at third base locked down with either Moncada or Rafael Devers.  They also have two upper tier pitching prospects in the minors in Jason Groome and Michael Kopech and can make just about any trade possible.  Sidenote: I actually think that the Red Sox could be a possible suitor for Mike Trout if the Angels ever made him available and are one of only a handful of teams with the talent to make it a reality.  But more on that in a few weeks.

*All stats and information come from baseball-reference.com, fangraphs.com, rosterresource.com, baseballamerica.com, and spotrac.com