Red Sox in 2016: Priority List

The story of the 2015 Boston Red Sox has been one fraught with tension and general ineptitude from the jump, both on and off the field. In this one year alone, the team has set fire to its front-office, kicked its universally beloved TV broadcaster out the door, seen the addition of just about every high-priced off-season free agent blow up in its face, and is well on its way towards a third last place finish in four years. There have been a few bright spots sprinkled in along the way– the emergence of Xander Boagarts and Mookie Betts, David Ortiz’s second-half surge, the way the team has played under interim manager Torrey Lavullo – but it’s certainly not enough to feel confident about the 2016 season. With this offseason looming as large as any has in recent memory, here are a list of priorities new team president Dave Dombrowski and company need to address before the start of next season.

1.  Get some high-end starting pitching to front the rotation – Sorry, the ever-injured Clay Buchholz As Team “Ace” experiment was a miserable failure and everyone else around him didn’t contribute much either (at least before the team fell out of the race). Rookies Eduardo Rodriguez and Henry Owens look poised to rejoin the back-half of the rotation next season along with $20-million-man Rich Porcello, but with them must come a solidified number 1 and number 2 starting pitcher, either via trade or free agency, for this team to have any hope of contending. Names like David Price, Johnny Cueto, Jordan Zimmerman (via free agency) and Matt Harvey, Tyson Ross, and Chris Sale (via trade) spring to mind.
2.  Try like hell to ditch the rotting corpse formally known as Hanley Ramirez (and his $19 million annual salary) – He is a man without a position, and one that doesn’t care enough about the game to really try and learn a new one. Let’s face it: Hanley at first base will go as well as Hanley in left field (AKA: not well at all). If this were Ortiz’s final year and the DH spot were opening up I’d say throw him in there and let Hanley do what he’s only interested in doing: hit the baseball. But Big Papi isn’t going anywhere, and the team has proven that it’s far better off with Hanley off the field than with him on it. It’s going to be a difficult contract to move, but if done, will go a long way towards improving the long-term success of this team.
3.  Rebuild the bullpen, for real this time – the struggles of the bullpen have arguably been the Sox’ greatest weakness over the course of the season. With starting pitching that’s routinely failed to make it into the late innings, the team’s reliance on an overworked and under-skilled crop of relief arms have proven mighty costly. It’s time to move on from veteran closer Koji Uehara and other names like Robbie Ross, Jr. and Tommy Layne and actually spend some money on this essential part of this team’s ability to contend.