By Andrew Hoenig | Assistant Editor
Boston, Mass. – Spring is upon us! And that means it is time for America’s favorite past time to start up again.
Spring training is over and done and now it is time to start another Major League Baseball season. At Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the Red Sox get set for what should be a memorable 2016 season.
This year is the last season for fan favorite David Ortiz, or Big Papi, in the MLB. Big Papi has decided to call it a career after the 2016 campaign, sparking this farewell tour of sorts for the season. No doubt however the season plays out, the last regular season game in Fenway will be sold out just to see Big Papi play ball one more time.
Ortiz’s time with the team is memorable because of his personal career accomplishments as well as his part played in helping the team win three World Series titles in 2004, 2007, and 2013. Fans will look on and try to enjoy every last moment of what will be the close to a Hall of Fame career for Ortiz.
But can the Red Sox bring him to the finish line this year? Boston went out and paid pitcher David Price a king’s ransom to come in and lead the charge in their pitching rotation. The 7-year, $217 million deal was enough to convince fans that Boston had made a step in the right direction since letting go of pitcher Jon Lester a year ago.
Price figures to be the leader in a rotation that includes pitchers Clay Buchholz, Rick Porcello, Joe Kelly, and Steven Wright. Pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez figures to start the season on the DL but he was an up-and-comer last season who should eventually contribute in the 2016 run.
If Price can deliver for the Sox, the rest of the rotation may follow suit. The Red Sox biggest problem last year was their pitching. Too often the rotation let down what was a strong offensive team. But the Price signing figures to push the team in the right direction by helping the other pitchers around him to try and play better as well. It only takes one star to help make a team better, at least that’s what the Sox and general manager John Farrell seem to think after Price was the only big name free agent brought in this offseason.
The batting order which figures to include Ortiz at his usual DH(designated hitter) position will include stalwart second baseman Dustin Pedroia, right fielder Mookie Betts, short stop Xander Bogarts, left hander Rusney Castillo, center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., catcher Blake Swihart, third baseman Pablo Sandoval, and first baseman Hanley Ramirez.
Ramirez’s switch from left field to first base has been challenging for him but he’s put in the work this offseason and in spring training. Pablo Sandoval figures to need a bounce back year after showing up to spring training overweight this year. Boston fans have pointed this out at every twist and turn so far but the hope is there for him to have a better second season than his first last year with the team in which he only tallied 10 home runs.
Sandoval relished the “challenge” of coming to Boston last year. This year Sandoval is embracing an old Tom Brady-ism if you will, saying that “every year I have to come out and prove myself.”
Sandoval and Ramirez could figure to be make or break players for this 2016 Red Sox squad and for now fans may be willing to give them both the benefit of the doubt. But results will be expected very quickly out of both of them.
The Red Sox bullpen will most likely include pitchers Craig Kimbrel, Koji Uehara whose magical 2013 season has kept his spot on the team after what were two rather disappointing seasons in 2014 and 2015, Carson Smith, Junichi Tazawa, Tommy Layne, and Robbie Ross Jr.
This list of closers actually may be the Red Sox best group since the 2013 season especially because of Kimbrel and a healthy Uehara. They will be counted on to put teams to bed down the stretch all season.
The bench figures to include Brock Holt and Travis Shaw who can both play multiple on field positions, everything except pitching. Joining them would be centerfielder Chris Young and catcher Ryan Hanigan.
The Red Sox 2016 squad looks stacked enough to make a postseason run in Big Papi’s farewell tour but a trip to the World Series?? The pitching rotation may be improved with the addition of David Price but it’s a lot to gamble so big on one guy. This season has the potential to be great but it also could be a major injury and career turn away from being a disappointment. It’s tough to say for sure what this squad’s outlook for 2016 will be. Overall the potential is there though for this to be a good team. So there maybe hope that Red Sox fans can see Big Papi play in the postseason for one final time.
Comments are closed.