Should Alex Cora deserve some blame after 2019 Red Sox fall flat just one season after winning the World Series?
The Red Sox had, prior to 2019, one of the best teams on paper. It was a fair assessment after winning the 2018 World Series. 2019 at least made the Red Sox relevant with one of the most intimidating pitching staffs in all of baseball. So what went wrong? Was it the team? The trades? The contract extensions? Or, was it the manager. Alex Cora.
The former General Manager, Dave Dombrowski thought it would be a good idea to resign Nathan Eovaldi after his spectacular performance in the World Series and also figured it would be smart to sign Chris Sale to a long term deal as well. Neither deal panned out as both starters spent significant time on the Disabled List and really didn’t contribute in 2019. Just how bad were the signings?
Poor Signings & Poor Trade Deadline
Eovaldi somehow got $68 million spread out over four seasons from 2019 through 2022. Sale got $145 million after 2019’s conclusion. That means that Sox fans will have to deal with a potentially injured starter from 2020 through 2024. Ouch. That does not bode well as there are major contract extensions to be dished out soon as well.
As far as some trades that didn’t happen, Dombrowski stated that during the Trade Deadline that other teams were asking about the Sox pen. Really? Who wanted who? It was great heading into the All Star Break but, directly after, the wheels came off and the season felt over. At the halfway mark, the Sox found themselves 49 – 41, just 9 games behind their division rivals for the AL East lead. Now, the Sox sit 81 – 74 and 20 games back. The Sox have gone 32 – 33 since the Break.
The Sox have spiraled into a below than mediocre team. It sure wasn’t something anyone expected considering the amount of money spent building this team. The good news is that major contracts will come off the books before the 2020 season begins. The bad news is that several big names are due raises in arbitration. One of the moves questioned by fans was the non-trade of Mookie Betts.
The future of Betts & Martinez in Beantown
He has already stated that he wants to test out the market and is 100% okay with going through salary arbitration. That type of attitude is not one of the team first mentality. It’s also someone the Red Sox don’t need to deal with especially if the right team presents an offer that they can’t refuse. Betts will get moved. The Sox have already committed to Xander Bogaerts long term and will do the same with Rafael Devers when it’s his time.
We will await to hear what J.D. Martinez decides regarding his opting in for 2020 or the potential opting out to test out the market. His true value will be high in the American League working primarily as a Designated Hitter. Defensive issues have hindered his value so having him come back to Beantown is a high possibility.
The opportunity of trading Betts presenting itself will come to fruition when he once again says he does not want to sign a longterm deal to stay in Boston. A team will come calling and willing to give him a Mike Trout type deal which no player is really worth when you think about it. Some guys work to get their big payday and then loaf, take Manny Machado for example. He got a major deal and then promptly disappeared as we all expected, for multiple reasons.
While Betts didn’t regress technically, he certainly didn’t do himself any favors as most of his numbers have taken a slight dip with only one or two rising. The potential trade of Betts will bring in a King’s Ransom. The benefit of which will be the fact that the Red Sox will no longer have the worst farm system in baseball anymore.
Sox Management & Manager Alex Cora
If the team does look to make some moves prior to the 2020 season, it will be to help the Red Sox prepare for the short term future in 2022 & 2023. Trending in what could be a potential “sell mode” mindset would also mean that Betts along with a couple other players whom are already major league ready could find themselves playing for a different team. Who stays and who goes? No one knows.
One thing that a lot of people have wondered about from the get-go was Manager Alex Cora during Spring Training. Multiple star players were getting rested throughout the month to iron out any kinks which made the first month of the season feel like Spring Training. The Sox were 13 – 17 at the end of April and 7 games back. Few things could have gone worse. Had the Red Sox not won the World Series the prior season, Cora might have found himself doing something else other than managing his team in 2020.
The new Red Sox Regime appears to have no fear about making big changes that will benefit the team. One has to think that exciting things are still to come. Stay tuned!
Photo Credit – Getty Images
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