The Boston Red Sox walked into the 2023 MLB season with many questions but defied the odds with a strong first half. However, Boston wound up losing 41 of the Sox’s 71 games after the All-Star break to finish with a 78-84 record and no playoffs for the second straight year. Still, there were positives. Here’s our recap of the 2023 Boston Red Sox regular season.
Related: What Each 2023 MLB Draft First-Round Pick Did in the Pros This Year
The Offensive Numbers
| Stat | Figure | MLB Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | 772 | 11th |
| Home Runs | 182 | 18th |
| OPS | .748 | 9th |
| Whiff% | 24.4% | 7th |
| Hard Hit% | 40.2% | 15th |
The Pitching Numbers
| Stat | Figure | MLB Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Starters’ ERA | 4.68 | 22nd |
| Relievers’ ERA | 4.32 | 20th |
| Strikeouts | 1,423 | 15th |
| Whiff% | 25.6% | 19th |
| Chase% | 29.6% | 10th |
The Good
The Red Sox offense proved to be a real strength for Boston in 2023, despite the losses of Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez this past winter.
The Red Sox replaced those two names with Masataka Yoshida and Justin Turner, both of whom proved to be excellent in Boston this year. Yoshida hit .289/.338/.445 with 15 home runs, 53 extra-base hits, 72 RBI, and a tidy 14.0% K% rate in his first season with the Sox. Turner, meanwhile, hit 23 home runs and set a career-high for RBI (96) in his age-38 campaign.
Another notable move this past offseason was the Red Sox’s decision to come to terms with Rafael Devers on a long-term extension. Devers hit .271/.351/.500 with 33 home runs, 67 extra-base hits, and 100 RBI.
But what might have been the biggest stories in Beantown this year were the breakouts of three youngsters: Brayan Bello, Triston Casas, and Jarren Duran.
The 24-year-old Bello proved to be an anchor for what was an unremarkable rotation for the Sox. Bello led the team in innings pitched (157) and while he did fade in the second half (5.49 ERA in 77 IP), the righty’s sinker/changeup/slider combo should have Sox fans excited for the future.
Casas, on the other hand, hit just .225/.330/.398 in the first half before an outstanding second half. The 23-year-old first baseman blasted 15 home runs and posted an OPS of 1.034 after the All-Star break, good for fourth in the Majors (min. 200 PA). Who were the other players with higher OPS figures? Shohei Ohtani, Matt Olson, and Ronald Acuna Jr. — good company to say the least.
As for Duran, the 27-year-old spent a good portion of the second half on the IL but put up strong numbers when healthy. Duran hit .295/.346/.482 with 44 extra-base hits and 24 stolen bases over 102 games.
The Bad
The Red Sox’s pitching was a concern heading into the 2023 campaign and several of Boston’s arms didn’t do much to change that.
Let’s start off with the team’s rotation, which ranked 22nd in the league in terms of ERA. Former first-round pick Tanner Houck posted an ERA of 5.01 ERA in 2023, while left-hander James Paxton gassed out in the second half after he came back strong from a series of injuries that kept him out for virtually all of 2021 and 2022.
The Sox signed RHP Corey Kluber to be a veteran innings-eater this past winter but he proved to be anything but. The right-hander posted a below-average Whiff% (21.6%) in the zone and got torched to the tune of a 7.04 ERA in 55 innings.
Then, there’s Chris Sale. The lefty continued to strike out hitters with efficiency in 2023 and his 3.80 FIP is somewhat of an indicator that Sale did get unlucky this year with that 4.30 ERA. On the other hand, his velocity is not near what it was in 2018 — and it’s probably good to assume that he won’t be able to hit 95-97 on a consistent basis.
However, his strong September — a 2.88 ERA and 29 strikeouts over 25 innings — is a big boost heading into the offseason.
Another interesting story — no pun intended — from the Sox’s 2023 campaign was Trevor Story. Story missed most of the year on the IL and hit just .203/.250/.316 with three home runs and 12 extra-base hits in 43 games. It’s a small sample size, but Story’s time with Tampa has not gone well thus far.
What to Look For in 2024
The Red Sox’s 2023 campaign did not end on a good note and that’s set to define what will lie ahead for Boston in 2024.
Boston began the process of re-evaluating where they are as an organization in September when ownership decided to move on from chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. Recently, the Sox also opted not to return coaches Carlos Febles and Dave Bush, the latter of whom was the team’s pitching coach.
As far as the team’s roster is concerned, Boston’s set to lose James Paxton in free agency (h/t Roster Resource). Corey Kluber has a club option that Boston will likely reject, while Justin Turner should opt out of his $13M player option.
Boston does have a good, young core that could see some newcomers next year. However, the Sox enter the offseason with questions about their veterans and whether Boston can avoid the cellar yet again next season.