Maybe so, but go back and look at some good Red Sox teams of the past, even World Series champs, and you'll find that the #3 starter usually did not have great numbers.
Believe it or not, Pivetta has been an average pitcher, ERA-wise, with the Red Sox, with an ERA+ of 102.
An average starter is, by definition, a #3 starter, on an average team.
On a good team, probably a #4.
And yet his 2022 OPS+ is exactly 2 points lower than his 2019 OPS+.
You have to keep in mind that the baseballs are not juiced now like they were a few years ago, and offense is down period.
Some numbers for Bogey for 2018-2022, leaving out the shortened 2020:
OPS+
2018 135
2019 139
2021 129
2022 137
wRC+
2018 133
2019 141
2021 130
2022 139
fWAR
2018 4.4
2019 5.9
2021 4.4
2022 5.9
Conclusion: amazingly consistent and not in decline.
Devers and Bogaerts both have higher OPS+ than 2021. I keep pointing this out to moon. He keeps agreeing, and then going back to saying they've declined.
notin made a good point, they instituted a change this year that allows catchers to give pitchers signs electronically. Has anybody really noticed this or found that it detracts from their enjoyment of the games? I haven't heard much.
By the same token, I think once robo calls are in place no one will notice that much either.
Theo Epstein explained it. He admitted that some of the analytics have made the game less fun to watch. It wasn't anything intentional, it just happened.