The Boston Red Sox Have A Very Bright Future Ahead Of Them

While the Red Sox's last few years have not met expectations, there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel.

Many of the next championship core pieces are either already on the major league roster or are right down the road in Triple-A Worcester. 

Around the diamond, starting at third base, is the face of the franchise, Rafael Devers. Raffy clearly isn’t going anywhere anytime soon; he’s locked up for the next nine years (through 2033) and is just starting to get into the prime of his career. At shortstop, Marcelo Mayer has been climbing through the farm system and showed lots of flash in Double-A this year before getting promoted to Worcester shortly after the All-Star break. Even though Mayer was moved up to Triple-A on August 12, he still has yet to play in a game at the level because of a lumbar strain. While it’s almost guaranteed that he won’t break camp with the big league club out of spring training in 2025, he still isn’t far from making an impact at the big-league level. While his prior injury history is a fair concern to have, this is his first injury of the 2024 season, and through 77 games in Portland this year, he posted a .307 batting average, .370 on-base percentage, and .480 slugging percentage for an .850 OPS. 

Moving over to second base, the Sox have plenty of options to be their cornerstone second baseman of the future. Whether it shakes out to be Vaughn Grissom, who just couldn’t seem to get things to click in the big leagues this year after a lengthy battle with hamstring injuries, or it could end up being Ceddanne Rafaela at second base, which is where he will see most of his playing time for the remainder of 2024 with Trevor Story returning to shortstop. They also could have top-five system prospect Kristan Campbell manning the position, who was also promoted to Worcester this month, where he has slashed an impressive .300 average, .444 OBP, and .580 slugging for a 1.024 OPS through 13 games in Triple-A. Before his promotion, though, he played 56 games for Double-A Portland, batted .362, and had a 1.045 OPS. Impressive offensive stats aside, Campbell has also played several defensive positions well on a regular basis through multiple levels of the minor leagues. In Worcester, he’s played third base, shortstop, second base, and centerfield all very well, making him an option for any of those positions when he makes his big league debut. 

Rounding out the infield is Triston Casas. Even though Casas has struggled since his return to the lineup on August 16, it’s clear that the organization views him as someone they want to be here for the long term. Throughout the offseason going into 2024, Casas spoke publicly about the club approaching him with contract extension offers but said they were still far from an agreement. However, it’s not a huge rush because there is still plenty of time to lock Casas up long-term since he is not a free agent until 2029. 

Behind the plate and climbing up through the system is Kyle Teel, who was just drafted last year and has already made an impact in Triple-A since his August promotion.  

Moving to the outfield, the Red Sox will have the biggest log jam to work through and, therefore, the most decisions to make. They have Jarren Duran, who has put up MVP-type numbers through the 2024 season and not only made his first All-Star game but also won the All-Star game MVP. While Duran has primarily played centerfield during his time with Boston, he has also proven to be an above-average left fielder this year, so he could be an option for either of those spots going forward. While Duran has made a major impact on the field this season, he has also had an impact off the field. He also received the team’s Heart and Hustle Award and has shown leadership qualities in the clubhouse. 

Ceddanne Rafaela is also an option in the outfield going forward, with the next wave of middle infield prospects coming sooner rather than later. He has played shortstop for a good chunk of this season with Trevor Story out, but he’s known primarily for his gold-glove-caliber centerfield defense, so having him go back to the outfield only strengthens the defense alignment going forward.

 Also, as an option in the outfield, Wilyer Abreu, who has had a strong rookie season through 2024, can provide an extra boost of pop in the lineup with good defense in right field. The biggest bright spot coming up through the farm system is Roman Anthony, currently ranked as the number two prospect in baseball according to Baseball America when they put out their latest rankings on September 3. Anthony is batting .340, with a .961 OPS through 23 games in Worcester, and has also played all three outfield positions this year in both Double-A and Triple-A, so he could plug in any of those spots when he arrives in Boston.

As for the pitching staff, despite a rocky first half of 2024, Bryan Bello is here for the foreseeable future after he signed his six-year contract extension worth $55 million in March. Even though his first half of this season was tough, Bello settled down in the second half, posted a 3.78 ERA since the All-Star break, and continues improving as the season winds down. Not to mention the emergence of Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford through 2024, when they both took major steps as starting pitchers. Houck was selected for his first All-Star Game and had a stellar first half of the season, where he held a 2.54 ERA going into the break. His most notable highlight of the first half was when he threw a complete game shutout against the Cleveland Guardians on April 17. Crawford also had a great first half, where he held a 3.00 ERA leading up to the All-Star break, and has started to return to that form as the season winds down. 

Down on the farm is also highly touted prospect Luis Perales, who posted a 2.94 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 33.2 innings pitched over nine starts in Double-A before suffering a season-ending elbow injury that resulted in Tommy John surgery. Even though Perales isn’t as close as the other pieces, he still could be a name that makes an impact at the big-league level in the next few years. Richard Fitts also made his MLB debut on September 8 after being acquired from the Yankees for Alex Verdugo in December 2023. His first big league outing was a strong one where he gave up six hits over 5.2 innings, walked one, struck out two, and allowed two runs score, though neither of them were earned. Even though it is a tiny sample size, being only one start against the historically bad White Sox, it was still a good start to his major league career and a way for the organization to see what they have in him as a starter. 

Bullpen-wise, this year has also seen the rise of Rule 5 draft pick Justin Slaten, who has shown that he can be a late-inning high-leverage arm for the Sox. Slaten has posted a 3.17 ERA through 37 games and 48.1 innings pitched. 

All in all, a lineup consisting of some combination of Devers, Mayer, Campbell, Casas, Rafeala, Duran, Anthony, Abreu, and Teel, along with the growth shown by the pitching staff, will be something that Red Sox fans can look forward to and enjoy watching for a very long time.