Four Reasons To Be Excited For The 2023 Red Sox With Spring Training Underway

Boston has a lot of potential despite massive turnover

Scott Neville | Feb 24, 2023

Four Reasons To Be Excited For The 2023 Red Sox With Spring Training Underway /

In this story:

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox roster is full of question marks next season. The core of the roster has been narrowed down to superstar third baseman Rafael Devers and a few fringe players. There's a case to be made that outfielder Alex Verdugo is a core player -- as is second baseman Trevor Story -- but his absence will be lengthy this season.

Given the turnover on the roster, it would be nearly impossible to accurately project the upcoming season.

While plenty can go wrong in a 162-game season -- as fans saw a year ago -- the current roster is full of potential.

Here are four reasons to be optimistic heading into the Red Sox's 2023 season:

The starting rotation is not expected to be fantastic but comes with high-end upside -- led by Chris Sale, Garrett Whitlock and Brayan Bello.
Nobody is expecting Boston's rotation to be among Major League Baseball's best. That said, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

Sale has made just 11 starts in the last three seasons. While injuries plagued the former ace, none of his recent ailments have a high likelihood of re-injury. What if the 33-year-old former ace made 25+ starts next season?

The southpaw still has his electric pitch mix and has been effective during his brief stints on the active roster over the last two seasons.

Sale went 5-2 with a 3.17 ERA and a 57-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 48 1/3 innings across his 11 starts between 2021 and 2022. That was a rusty version of Sale, with nagging injuries along the way. If he can stay healthy for a prolonged period of time, he will be a frontline starter.

Whitlock did not look sharp in his nine starts last season. Some fans appear to have seen enough of the 26-year-old in the rotation -- which is premature. The right-hander was playing through a hip injury that required off-season surgery and was thrown into the rotation mid-season without a proper build-up.

Whitlock is 12-6 with a 2.73 ERA, absurd 163-to-32 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .227 batting average against and 1.06 WHIP in 151 2/3 career innings, all with the Red Sox. There's a strong case to be made that Whitlock could be a reliable frontline starter next season.

Bello has as strong of a case to be the next ace of the Red Sox as any prospect in recent history. Pedro Martinez himself claimed Bello has "potential to be a Cy Young type of pitcher in the future" and has since been working with the 23-year-old daily in spring training.

The former top-100 prospect was roughed up in his first few starts -- largely due to poor luck and even worse defense -- but quickly adjusted to the MLB level.

After allowing 14 earned runs in his first three outings, Bello posted a 3.18 ERA with a 46-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 45 1/3 innings the rest of the way.

Between Sale, Whitlock and Bello, the Red Sox have a rotation full of potential. Corey Kluber, James Paxton and Nick Pivetta are far from slouches either.

The bullpen has been completely revamped and projects to be dominant.
The Red Sox had the third most blown saves in the American League with 28 in 67 opportunities. Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom made an honest effort to avoid that situation again in 2023.

Bloom added closer Kenley Jansen, right-handed relievers Chris Martin and Wyatt Mills and left-handed relievers Joely Rodríguez and Richard Bleier.

He's also bringing back John Schreiber, Tanner Houck, Zack Kelly, Ryan Brasier and Kaleb Ort. The first two are expected to be high-caliber relievers while Kelly projects as a promising arm entering his second season with the big-league club.

The new regular season schedule came at a perfect time for the Red Sox.
The 2023 American League East projects to be one of the best divisions in the history of the game. Last season Boston was the only team to finish under .500 with a 78-84 record.

With the Baltimore Orioles on the rise and the other three contenders projected to remain toward the top of the American League, the Red Sox will welcome the new changes to the schedule.

The Red Sox went a pitiful 26-50 against AL East rivals last season. In 2023 Boston will play 52 divisional games instead of the previous tally of 76 before the schedule changes.

A balanced schedule will significantly aid the Red Sox. Instead of a sixth or seventh series against the New York Yankees, they'll have second-half matchups against the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs among others.

The 2023 Red Sox could pick up 10 games on last year's team solely based on having a much easier schedule.

The Red Sox have talent on the way.
Boston got a sneak preview of some of the homegrown talent when first baseman Triston Casas -- the No. 2 prospect in the Red Sox's farm system according to MLB Pipeline -- and the aforementioned Bello showcased potential toward the end of the 2022 season.

While those two are expected to get more prominent roles this year, more reinforcements are on the way.

Ceddanne Rafaela -- Boston's No. 3 prospect -- is expected to open the season with Triple-A Worcester and could end up in the big leagues toward the second half of the season. The 22-year-old had a breakout offensive campaign last season and has elite defensive versatility. Many scouts believe Rafaela is a Gold-Glove caliber outfielder right now and a plus defender at shortstop, second base and third base.

Bryan Mata -- Boston's No. 6 prospect (and top pitching prospect) -- showed promise in his elevation to Triple-A Worcester last season and has turned heads internally with a 100 mph fastball and electric four-pitch mix. Both Bloom and Red Sox manager Alex Cora touted Mata as a player to pay attention to in spring training.

Southpaws Brandon Walter and Chris Murphy could factor into the mix as well should a starter or two head to the injury list. Utility man Enmanuel Valdez -- acquired from the Houston Astros in the Christian Vázquez trade -- could be called up as well if he can improve defensively.

More MLB: Reporter Fuels Trade Rumors Regarding Red Sox Fan Favorite After Lackluster Stint In Boston

Published Feb 24, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu