Red Sox’s Lineup ‘Not Repairable’ This Season, Per Insider originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox need to figure things out soon, especially after getting swept by the Toronto Blue Jays.
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The Red Sox’s season has been disappointing to say the least, as the team sits at the bottom of its division with a 29-43 record. Boston had high expectations this year following its first playoff appearance since 2021 last season and a busy offseason with multiple big moves, but the offense has struggled.
The Red Sox have scored only 282 runs this season, the second-fewest in all of baseball. Despite Boston’s offensive woes, the team remains in the playoff picture within striking distance of a wild-card playoff spot.
As the trade deadline draws closer, it remains unclear whether the Red Sox will be buyers or sellers, though The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn believes the lineup is “not repairable” this season with how much the team has struggled to produce on offense.
“This team is on its way to a third last-place finish in five years and a fourth in seven,” Finn wrote on Friday. “It’s not an unlikable team personality-wise, certainly not in the way, say, Joe Kerrigan and the 2001 Red Sox behaved down the stretch in that lost season.
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“It’s just bad, so bad, and boring, with a lineup that features Willson Contreras, who is actually submitting a Manny Ramirez-type of season, and a bunch of underachievers, platoon players, and Quadruple-A replacement types who are being asked to play roles above their capabilities. The Red Sox are a roster-construction failure. Management can claim to be looking for outside help, and maybe they are, but the lineup is not repairable this season.”
The Red Sox’s offense does not boast much power, hitting the second-fewest home runs in the league, but that was known heading into this season. What has been plaguing Boston is its inefficiency with runners in scoring position and reliance on young players.
The Red Sox are still realistically in the playoff mix. Despite the uphill battle, Boston will need to make a run soon to show that the lineup is repairable.
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