As the new MLB season gets underway, there will be plenty of narratives to watch out for. Everyone will be looking out for the performances of players like Shohei Ohtani, a player on the trajectory of being an all-time great, and Juan Soto, who will have to prove he is worth the most significant contract in sports history.
As for teams, we will all look to see if the Dodgers justify being favorites for a World Series repeat and if the White Sox can get out of the doldrums as the team with the worst record in 2024.
Yet, what is the most interesting team for neutrals to watch? For our money, it’s the Boston Red Sox. We say that simply: it feels like a team that can do anything. Maybe they struggle and end at the bottom of the AL East, or perhaps the Sox’ new players and (brilliant) prospects coming through will hit the ground running and deliver postseason glory for a hungry fanbase.
We make that assertion because we have seen much debate about the Sox across Spring Training. Some league-wide fan votes have predicted that the Sox will top the AL East and perhaps go on to take the ALCS. Yet, if you talk to plenty of Boston fans, they will tell you there is a sense of disgruntlement in Beantown, as there has been for the last few years.
Sportsbooks on the fence with Red Sox
Looking at the World Series odds and general MLB lines for upcoming games, we can say that sportsbooks are somewhat on the fence about the Sox, too. They are certainly not dismissed as strong postseason candidates, but they are not put in the same betting bracket as teams like the Dodgers and Braves or AL East rivals like the Yankees and Orioles.
In general, many pundits have picked out the Sox as their ‘surprise package’ team of the season. It’s funny when that happens in sports, as pundits often pick the same surprise package overall, and it leads one to assume that there is nothing surprising about it. That said, there is a sense of going against the grain when we look at the betting odds.
We mentioned the Red Sox’s disgruntled fanbase over the last few years, and there is a lot to unpack there. It broadly stems from the fact that the Sox felt like an organization standing still. The team’s owner, FSG, seemed reluctant to double down after the 2018 World Series win.
The Sox lost some big names—Mookie Betts—in the years that followed, and they became an organization seemingly reluctant to vie with the likes of the Dodgers and Yankees to offer big contracts.
Bregman may revitalize the batting lineup
That did not exactly change over the winter, but the Sox did make some big moves. Alex Bregman will most likely get the pulses racing, but Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Crochet also look like very astute moves.
Both pitchers looked good in Spring Training, and Crochet will be named at the top of the Sox rotation, and Chapman will get the nod as closer. They join a pitching staff that finally looks like it has some depth, too.
Bregman joins a batting lineup with much promise, but there must be some elements of luck to get the most out of it. Triston Cass and Trevor Story, for example, have yet to show their potential in a Sox uniform due to niggling injuries. There are also questions over second base. Could Marcelo Mayer – Boston’s long-talked-about best prospect – step into that position?
Ultimately, it will be a tough season for the Sox, regardless of what happens. We have read predictions that suggest they can topple the Yankees and Orioles, thanks to the former’s injury problems and the latter’s disjointedness in the offseason. Yet, it remains a big ask. The Sox have a lot of new parts, and it might be that the team has to grow into the season. We are about to find out whether that can happen.
