The Boston Red Sox didn’t win the 2018 World Series just because they had chemistry, a great manager and a few lucky breaks.
For whatever reason, people often forget last season’s record-breaking squad featured one of the greatest collections of talent in Red Sox history. And the 2019 version of the Red Sox once again will feature one of the most loaded rosters in Major League Baseball.
Sports Illustrated recently published a list of the top 100 players in baseball, and seven Red Sox made the cut.
Take a look:
2. Mookie Betts
6. Chris Sale
18. J.D. Martinez
49. Xander Bogaerts
57. Andrew Benintendi
94. David Price
96. Jackie Bradley Jr.
It’s worth noting that Craig Kimbrel, who currently remains unsigned, ranked 81st on SI’s list. Mike Trout came in at No. 1 — shocking, we know.
The scary part about Boston’s roster is that you could argue it should have even more players on this list. Or, at the very least, players who either are on the cusp or project to be among the game’s elite in a few years.
Rafael Devers, Rick Porcello, Nathan Eovaldi and Eduardo Rodriguez come to mind.
Of course, championships (particularly repeats) aren’t won on paper. But if the Red Sox manage to stay healthy — admittedly a big if — they should be contenders in October once again.
