While the Major League Baseball season just wrapped up with the Houston Astros winning the World Series, the Boston Red Sox have already had their eyes on next year for a month now.
As the MLB gets set to completely turn the page to the 2023 season, ESPN did the same by releasing their "way-too-early" 2023 power rankings.
Not much is expected of the Red Sox as of right now, especially after they missed the playoffs this past season with a 78-84 record and finished in last place in the American League East.
ESPN's ranking reflected that as David Schoenfield placed the Red Sox at No. 23 overall. Here is part of his reasoning as to why:
"It's hard to know what to make of the Red Sox right now with two last-place finishes sandwiched around a playoff trip in 2021," Schoenfield wrote. "Xander Bogaerts was their best player in 2022, and he's expected to opt out of his player option and head into free agency. Boston can slide Trevor Story over to shortstop, although his arm strength is an issue, so maybe the Red Sox will sign another of the free-agent shortstops (or a stopgap until top prospect Marcelo Mayer is ready)."
The Red Sox face a significant offseason, especially since Bogaerts did indeed opt out of his contract, doing so Monday. Boston also has numerous other free-agent situations to address as well, with Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Wacha being two notable players to hit the open market as well.
The Red Sox are viewed as a more middle-of-the-pack team by DraftKings Sportsbook, but with free agency set to begin very soon, a lot can change for Boston between now and the start of the regular season.
