Does this mean we get everyone else from the 2018 team back too? No? Well, I suppose it’s a start. Alex Cora is officially back to manage the Red Sox after a not so fantastic 2020 season to put it lightly. This entire season was essentially just Red Sox fans saying “who?” after the starting pitching was announced each game, with Nathan Eovaldi popping in every now and again, and Ron Roenicke telling the media “we’re just playing with what we have.” Super.

What I think was surprising to a lot of fans was how solid offensively and defensively the roster remained all the way up and down even after losing a player like Mookie Betts. Alex Verdugo proved to be a force defensively, and definitely swung the bat well. It does appear, unfortunately, that Jackie Bradley Jr. may be on his way out as his qualifying offer wasn’t met. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s over, but it’s not a great sign. It’s no secret his defensive abilities were unparalleled, and it looked like a guy like Kevin Pillar might be his eventual replacement, but we all know how that went.

Now to the pitching staff. We know Chris Sale needs to be healthy and wants to be healthy. If I’m being perfectly honest I have absolutely no idea what his timeline for a full return is, but elbow issues are always tricky, and you need to be extremely careful with how you rehab them. It was incredibly unfortunate that Eduardo Rodriguez contracted COVID, and even more scary that his subsequent heart issues caused him to have to miss the entire season. Similar to Sale’s situation, I have no idea what that timeline looks like or even the status of his heart’s health. Other than those two and Eovaldi, the Sox are pretty thin, and have nothing in the realm of a closer, a position that’s almost been a trademark of Boston Red Sox pitching. Foulke, Papelbon, Uehara, Kimbrel… now who?

The good news is the Red Sox front office has a full offseason to figure this out. Cora was the first step, now comes the rebuild.

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