Back in November, we posed four burning questions the Red Sox would be tasked with answering in the offseason.
To be fair, Boston did answer one of those questions by installing Trevor Story at second base. Yet with hours to go until the start of the 2022 Major League Baseball season, three of those questions still remain on the table.
Moving beyond concerns about Chris Sale and Bobby Dalbec, considering both of those situations seem to be, well, what they are at this point, here are three questions facing the Red Sox heading into 2022.
Will Trevor Story come as advertised?
The Red Sox have replaced the Kyle Schwarber experiment — when they tried to move a bonafide star in the outfield into an everyday first baseman — with the Story experiment, though this one figures to work out at least a little bit better.
Story, a longtime Colorado Rockies shortstop, has never played second base. But he’s “comfortable” with the arrangement, which he demonstrated not just with his words but by signing with the Red Sox in the first place. He was one of the top available free agents and could have had his pick of destinations.
It’s unclear exactly how long this arrangement will last, considering Story signed a six-year deal with Boston and the club’s existing shortstop, Xander Bogaerts, can opt out of his contract with the team following this season and try out free agency as a proven superstar. But for the time being, both middle infielders have expressed their excitement about the situation, with Bogaerts even recruiting his potential replacement in the run-up to Story’s signing.
This all seems promising off the field, but now it will need to translate to on-field success, too.
Is this new-look rotation enough?
The Red Sox won’t get a taste of a full season of Sale, considering the ace will begin the season on the 60-day injured list due to a right rib stress fracture. It’s a tough break for Sale, who desperately needed a bounce-back season following an up-and-down return from Tommy John surgery in 2021. But now the issue of Sale has become an even more glaring item on the agenda: How will the rotation string together in his absence fare?
Manager Alex Cora announced Monday the Red Sox will move ahead with a five-man rotation to start the season. Nathan Eovaldi and Nick Pivetta were givens at the front of the group, but Tanner Houck, Michael Wacha and Rich Hill will slot into line behind them. Garrett Whitlock, who shined out of the bullpen in 2021, could be used to piggyback off of the veteran Hill, Cora said. Adding the up-and-coming star, who is a right-handed pitcher, certainly would create an interesting dynamic should he follow up the veteran lefty Hill.
The loss of Sale isn’t necessarily a reason to count out the Red Sox, considering they managed pretty well without him for much of the 2021 campaign. But that was when their rotation also boasted Eduardo Rodriguez as the third starter. Rodriguez since has moved on to the Detroit Tigers, which left the Red Sox with a hole in the rotation before Sale’s new absence.
At this rate, this group will have to manage through at least the first weekend of June, given Sale’s timeline.
Matt Barnes is just one big question mark
It seems like it will be unclear what version of Barnes the Red Sox will get this season until the experienced closer takes the hill. Barnes put together an All-Star-worthy first half of 2021 before falling apart. His collapse was enough for him to be initially left off of the team’s postseason roster before he stepped in as an injury replacement.
The offseason admittedly has not revealed much more about Barnes’ role. Cora was non-committal about the veteran’s duty as closer, and his velocity (or lack thereof) was troublesome as recently as Saturday.
Last season, the Red Sox had a myriad of options in the bullpen who were able to fill into the late-relief/closer role upon Barnes’ implosion. But Adam Ottavino, who ate up a lot of those innings, signed with the New York Mets as a free agent, and Whitlock can’t play every role on the roster. Perhaps Ryan Brasier is the answer, now that he is prepared for a full season following injuries and personal reasons that kept him out for much of 2021.
This seems like a question that will have to be revisited down the road.
The Red Sox open the 2022 MLB season on Friday against the New York Yankees in the Bronx, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET. NESN will have all of the action, with pregame coverage beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET.
