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After being crowned World Series champions for the third time in 10 years back in 2013, the Boston Red Sox have now finished in last place in the AL East in each of the past two seasons. Going into 2016, though, there is plenty of reason for Red Sox fans to be hopeful.
Obviously, adding 2012 AL Cy Young award winner David Price was clearly an enormous addition to the starting staff. Of course, the Red Sox will also need Clay Buchholz to stay healthy and Rick Porcello to bounce back, but they now have a true ace at the top of their rotation.
At the back end of the rotation, Boston has Eduardo Rodriguez, who went an impressive 10-6 with a 3.85 ERA (112 ERA+) and a 1.29 WHIP during his rookie season last year. Although hard-throwing Joe Kelly didn’t exactly have a great season last year, he should still have the ability to figure things out and be a decent fifth starter. One may also want to keep an eye on names such as Roenis Elias and Henry Owens for the No. 5 spot in the rotation as well.
Another big move the Red Sox made this offseason was acquiring Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres. Having an elite-caliber closer at the back end of the bullpen should obviously be a major plus.
When it comes to the starting lineup, it will indeed be very interesting to see if Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez (now a first baseman) can rebound from subpar seasons. Still, the Red Sox have an extremely talented young core with players such as Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Blake Swihart. They also have the core veterans in Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz who continue to perform as well.
The AL East can be expected to be a tough division, but on paper, the Red Sox seem to have the talent to stack up with the best of the best. A 90-72 record could certainly be a reality for Boston in 2016.
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