Inside The Red Sox

Here's Red Sox's 'Biggest Weakness' With 2024 Season Spiraling Out Of Control

Will the Red Sox find a way to right the ship this winter?

Patrick McAvoy

jul 7, 2020; boston, massachusetts, united states; a general view of empty seats at fenway park during the boston red sox summer camp. mandatory credit: david butler ii-usa today sports
jul 7, 2020; boston, massachusetts, united states; a general view of empty seats at fenway park during the boston red sox summer camp. mandatory credit: david butler ii-usa today sports / david butler ii-usa today sports
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Will the Boston Red Sox find a way to nab an American League Wild Card spot over the next few weeks?

It certainly will be difficult.

Boston currently is 4 1/2 games behind the Kansas City Royals for the final Wild Card spot and has struggled since the All-Star break. The Red Sox's offense actually has been pretty solid for the most part in the second half of the season, but the club's pitching hasn't followed suit.

Both Boston's rotation and bullpen have struggled and that is one of the biggest reasons why the Red Sox are in a tough spot right now. The Red Sox entered the last offseason looking to add pitching and they will need to do so again this winter.

Boston doesn't have much pitching coming up from the minors right now and therefore will have to focus on free agency or the trade market. Because of this, Boston's lack of pitching development was called the team's biggest weakness by Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer.

"Boston Red Sox: They're in a Slump with Pitching Development," Rymer said. "By WAR, the Red Sox's best pitchers for the last 10 seasons are Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez and David Price. Not one of them was originally drafted or signed by the organization. Hence the narrative that pitching development is not Boston's forte.

"A concerted effort to change that has begun under Craig Breslow, but the early returns are mixed. Though Tanner Houck has broken out in 2024, Brayan Bello has largely regressed. Meanwhile, the Red Sox's farm system is mostly known for its impact bats."

Rymer certainly isn't wrong and hopefully, the Red Sox can find a way to right the ship this winter.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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