The Beantown Blues

As the 162 game season is usually looked at as a marathon, the remainder of this season has resulted into an all out sprint for the Red Sox. The 2022 campaign was halted by injuries and underachieving play, which makes this coming offseason an important one for Chaim Bloom.

The Red Sox currently sit at 69-72, sixteen games out of first place, while also being ten games out of the final wild card spot. A situation many thought the Sox would never see themselves in after coming just two wins away from the World Series a season ago.

The main issue this season -- AL East opponents. The Red Sox are just 20-40 vs their division rivals this year and failed to win a series until August 11 vs the Baltimore Orioles. Although this was a one game series, the Red Sox followed it up with a series win over the Yankees just days later. Injuries to Chris Sale, the re-injured James Paxton, (who lasted only two batters in his rehab start in the Florida Complex League after arm discomfort), Trevor Story and Michael Wacha for an extended period of time - the list goes on. With 21 games to play this season the Red Sox are still trying to compete, while testing out potential difference makers for the future.

While the season has had its fair share of negatives, it also has had many positives. The Sox called up 1B phenom Triston Casas who made his debut on September 4th, and collected his first big league hit. SS Xander Bogaerts has also continued his stellar season batting an American League leading .319. Although this season isn't what Red Sox fans had hoped, the future is looking bright under Chaim Bloom's leadership. Chaim and Alex Cora are here to stay next season - pieces will be coming back, and an offseason checklist will soon be created and executed in order to get the Sox back into October's hunt for a World Series title.

The checklist? -- Relief pitching, a big name starter, a RF to create outfield depth, a closer, the hopeful resigning of Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts, and perhaps another right-handed bat as J.D. Martinez is set to hit free agency.

A disappointing season disrupts the chances of the Red Sox to make the postseason, as FanGraphs gave them a 0.1% chance to clinch a spot in 2022. However, the future is still bright and gives the Red Sox a chance to compete for years to come.