Nobody, except maybe jacko, expects all or most to "regress." The problem is we need progression from many over 2019.
Yes, we don't over 2018, but we are missing a few key and many minor pieces from that 2018 club. If we get the best of 2018 or 2019 from all our players, wecould win 118 games again, even without Porcello, Kimbrel, Kelly, Pearce, Pom, Nunez, Holt, Leon and others, but that's kinda wishful thinking, isn't it? Not totally unreasonable to hope most do, but will enough do it?
Here's the best season out of 2018 or 2019 by current Sox players:
The optimist view:
OPS
1.078 Betts '18
1.031 JD '18
.939 Bogey '19
.916 Devers '19
.830 Beni '18
.798 Vaz '18
.766 Chavis '19
.744 Lin '18
.738 JBJ '18
Here's the pessimist view:
.939 JD '19
.915 Betts '19
.883 Bogey '18
.774 Beni '19
.766 Chavis '19
.731 Devers
.717 JBJ
.573 Lin
.540 Vaz
Pitchers
WAR
Optimist:
6.2 Sale '18
3.7 ERod '19
2.4 Price '18
2.1 Workman '19
1.5 Eovaldi '18 (1/3 season)
1.3 Barnes '19
0.9 Walden '19
0.7 Taylor '19
0.7 Brasier '18
0.5 DHern '19
0.4 Velazquez '18
0.3 Weber '19
0.3 Lakins '19
0.3 Johnson '18
0.2 Poyner '18
0.1 Hembree '18 & '19
Pessimist:
3.6 Sale'19
2.3 Price '19
2.1 ERod '18
1.2 Barnes '18
0.3 Brasier '19
0.2 Walden '18
0.1 Hembree '18 & '19
0.0 Poyner '19
0.0 Johnson '19
-0.2 Shawaryn '19
-0.3 Eovaldi '19
Peraza:
.742 in '18
.631 in '19
Perez:
1.9 in '19
-0.1in '18