The Red Sox won 81 games last season, one that saw a strong overall performance from their offense. However, Boston didn’t have enough ammunition — both at the plate and on the mound — to surpass any of the other contenders in the AL Wild Card race. Here’s our 2024 Red Sox recap.
The Offense
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | 751 | 9th |
| Home Runs | 194 | 9th |
| OPS | .741 | 7th |
| Whiff% | 28.0% | 27th |
| Hard Hit% | 41.0% | 6th |
The Pitching
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Starters’ ERA | 3.81 | 7th |
| Relievers’ ERA | 4.39 | 24th |
| Strikeouts | 1,353 | 20th |
| Whiff% | 23.7% | 28th |
| Chase% | 29.8% | 6th |
The Good
Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran showed flashes of brilliance in 2023. But, Duran took it to a new level in 2024 in a season that saw the 28-year-old hit 21 home runs, accrue 34 stolen bases, and become arguably the Sox’s most important player in 2024.
Duran’s 47 extra-base hits over the first half were fifth-most in baseball. The only player with more were Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Aaron Judge, and Shohei Ohtani. He finished 2024 first in doubles (48) and triples (14) and eighth in the AL MVP voting.
It was the culmination of everything coming together for Duran, a highly-skilled hitter who can take the ball to all fields and hit everywhere — in college, the Minors — before becoming a key piece for Boston.
Aside from Duran, the Red Sox received strong returns from Rafael Devers and Tyler O’Neill. Devers hit 28 home runs and was a force yet again. O’Neill, acquired by the Cardinals in December 2023, did well for himself in hitter-friendly Fenway Park, as he hit 31 home runs in onlu 113 games.
O’Neill and Devers were the Sox’s two main run producers, as Triston Casas only played 63 games last season due to injury.
On the mound, Tanner Houck excelled in the Sox’s rotation after he posted a 5.01 ERA in 2023. Houck has a unique blend of deception in his delivery, coupled with stuff. The righty has one of the best pure sinkers — a hard two-seamer with above-average sinker — and paired it very well with his sweeper and splitter, two pitches that tunnel effectively off it.
Houck finished 2024 with a career-high 178.2 IP, 154 strikeouts, and led the AL in HR/9 (0.6).
The righty was the best of a good rotation that featured struggles at times from several starters. However, Nick Pivetta, a free agent after 2024, struck out 172 over 145.2 IP, as he built on success had late in 2023.
The Bad
The rib strain to Triston Casas, one that kept him out for three months, left a hole in the Sox’s lineup. Boston leaned on a committee to help fill his absence, as Romy Gonzalez, Connor Wong, and Dominic Smith all saw time at first.
Smith was the main beneficiary, as he played 84 games. However, Smith didn’t hit for much pop (.153 ISO) and was DFA’d in August.
The middle infield was also a revolving door for Boston. Trevor Story, often injured in his Red Sox career, only played 26 games last season after a left shoulder disclotation that cost him most of 2024. Story has only played in 69 of 324 contests (21.3%) over the last two seasons.
As for the second base position, Vaughn Grissom did not take advantage of a fresh start in Boston. Grissom was acquired in December 2023 in the Chris Sale trade but only hit .190/.246/.219 over 31 games with the Red Sox.
Ceddanne Rafaela (.664 OPS) hit for decent-enough power but also walked just 15 times over 152 games. Among players who played at least 130 games last season, only Ernie Clement (2.4% BB%) had a lower walk rate than Rafaela (2.6%).
As for the Red Sox’s weaknesses in their pitching staff, there weren’t much to be had in the bullpen. Boston didn’t receive strong contributions from Bailey Horn and Luis Garcia, both of whom had ERAs north of 6.00. Lucas Sims, Isaiah Campbell, and Joely Rodriguez also struggled.
However, the regulars — Kenley Jansen, Justin Slaten, and Chris Martin, among others – were highly effective.
Boston did, however, deal with hiccups in their rotation.
Brayan Bello, a sinkerballer who pounds the zone, saw a very uneven first half, one where opponents slugged .448 and an ERA over 5.00. His numbers stabilized in the second half, as Bello’s ERA was 3.47 after the All-Star break.
Kutter Crawford, on the other hand, was very good in the first half. Crawford struck out 112 over 114 innings and opposing batters had only a .629 OPS off the righty.
However, Crawford — a pitcher with a high-carry four-seamer — has a penchant for attacking up and it didn’t work in the second half. Crawford gave up 20 home runs over 69.2 second-half innings. It led Crawford to lead baseball in most home runs allowed (34) by a pitcher last season.
Early Projected Lineup for 2025
- C: Connor Wong
- 1B: Triston Casas
- 2B: David Hamilton
- 3B: Rafael Devers
- SS: Trevor Story
- OF: Jarren Duran (LF), Ceddanne Rafaela (CF), Wilyer Abreu (RF)
- DH: Masataka Yoshida
- SP: Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Richard Fitts
- RP: Aroldis Chapman, Liam Hendriks, Brennan Bernardino, Justin Slaten, Zack Kelly, Cam Booser, Greg Weissert, Josh Winckowski
The Red Sox beefed up their 2025 rotation in December when Boston added All-Star pitcher Garrett Crochet. Crochet joins a strong top-four, which is projected to include Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, and Kutter Crawford.
Who joins those four — assuming all are healthy — remains to be seen. Lucas Giolito, if he’s healthy, is an obvious option. Garrett Whitlock, who pitched well across four starts in 2024, may be back at some point next season after internal brace surgery. But, Whitlock won’t be an option for the start of next season.
Or, another addition.
As for the Sox’s offense, another right-handed bat would make sense, especially with the loss of O’Neill. Boston is reportedly one of the teams Nolan Arenado would be open to accepting a trade to. However, an Arenado trade would likely necessitate a move for either himself, or Rafael Devers off third.
While Arenado would be willing to off third, a Devers transition to first would make more sense. Devers has had questionable range for years and a move to first base would make a lot of sense.