Red Sox Weekend Warmup: A New Era Begins In Boston

The Red Sox parted ways with former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom on Thursday, signaling the start of a new era in Boston.

That era will likely start with a trip to … not the postseason. If you’re an optimist, FanGraphs has given the Red Sox a 0.5% chance of making the playoffs as of Thursday, but it’s fairly clear that Boston’s out of it.

They have the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees to thank for that, as the Red Sox combined to go 3-6 against those teams entering a series finale with their fiercest rivals Thursday. There will only be 15 games left on the Boston’s schedule as it enters the weekend, and the focus has now shifted from making the postseason to reshaping the roster into a contender.

Here’s where things stand as the Red Sox enter a new era.

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Red Sox odds (Sept. 14)*
To win World Series: +100000
To win American League: +50000
To win AL East: off board
To make playoffs: off board

The Red Sox are out of contention, meaning the final two weeks of the regular season will be all about building toward the future.

*Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Probable pitchers
— Friday, Sept. 15 (7:07 p.m. at Blue Jays): Brayan Bello, RHP (12-8, 3.68 ERA) vs. José Berríos, RHP (10-10, 3.63 ERA)

— Saturday, Sept. 16 (3:07 p.m. at Blue Jays): Chris Sale, LHP (6-4, 4.88 ERA) vs. Chris Bassitt, RHP (14-8, 3.83 ERA)

— Sunday, Sept. 17 (1:37 p.m. at Blue Jays): Nick Pivetta, RHP (9-9, 4.56 ERA) vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-3, 2.93 ERA)

Storylines to watch
1. Who will replace Chaim Bloom?
The answer to this question likely won’t be coming for a long time, but the early indication is that the Red Sox intend to shake things up even more across the organization. There will be plenty of names floated around in the coming days, weeks and months, but Boston will make sure to find a candidate it feels is right for the job — no matter how long that takes.

“We haven’t made any determinations. We have no plans with respect to filling these two roles,” Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy said Thursday, as seen on NESN. “We may fill these roles with one individual, find he or she that wants to lead the organization. Could be a general manager — it could be president of baseball operations. We’ll have to see.”

2. It’s time to focus on playing the cornerstones.
It has been awfully fun to watch the likes of Justin Turner, Adam Duvall and James Paxton step in and contribute, but it’s time to start playing the youngsters. Paxton has already been shut down, but it may be time to start giving Turner and Duvall extra days off in favor of the rookies currently occupying Boston’s roster. In the games the Red Sox have remaining, expect to see a lot of Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu — with other youngsters possibly making an appearance.

3. It’s time to study those free agent lists.
The most exciting thing about new leadership will be the presumed new approach Boston will take to the free-agent market. The Red Sox are set up to spend, and the free-agent market is one conducive for that. It’s time to start studying up on those top-10 lists everyone likes to write.