Red Sox Champion Gives Strong Endorsement Of Boston’s Core

Will Middlebrooks will acknowledge it didn't make much sense for the Red Sox to make marquee additions in recent years. After all, Boston didn't yet know what it had in the players who make up the club's new core.

But those players have stepped up and then some since cutting their teeth in Major League Baseball, and Middlebrooks believes this group is worth building around.

"Jarren Duran showed last year he can be a really good player. Is that real? Well, yeah. He's doing it again at an even higher level," Middlebrooks said on the latest episode of NESN's "310 To Left" podcast. "He's a tone-setter. He's becoming a leader in the clubhouse just by the way he puts on his cleats and plays the game. Now, it's developing this core of players. Triston Casas is part of the future. Brayan Bello -- his stuff is so good. He's like one tiny mechanical fix away from being an ace. The point is, this group is ready. At some point, the higher-ups, the gods of the Red Sox have to say, 'It's time to add.' This is where you sprinkle in and you go."

The encouraging play of Duran and others very well could influence how Craig Breslow and company operate this winter during the MLB offseason. But those improvements could make an impact on Red Sox executives even sooner, as Boston entered Tuesday in possession of an American League Wild Card spot with the trade deadline a little over a month away.

There's still quite a bit of uncertainty when it comes to the future in Boston. But thanks to the emergence of a series of players who are exciting expectations, it feels safe to say the future is bright at Fenway Park.