A huge key moving forward for this team will be the ongoing development of Houck and Whitlock. They are young and haven't hit their primes yet (though it's hard to imagine Whitlock performing better in his "prime" than he did this year). When I think about the young position players coming up through the ranks, it's hard to be anything but incredibly optimistic. I don't know how long X and Devers will be here, but Jordan, Yorke, Casas, and Mayer are all super exciting prospects. Downs a little less so coming off this season but still, a nice prospect. But by the time they arrive, the current veterans on the pitching staff will likely be on the way out. So who will fill those roles? Well, Houck and Whitlock should hopefully be two big guns in the rotation of the future.
In light of those guys arriving, I don't see the Sox doing much with the infield this offseason. Dalbec is fine as a temporary, inexpensive 1b option. Devers at 3b and Xander at SS for 2022. That leaves 2b, but with all these guys making their way through the system, they don't need a long-term answer there right now.
In the OF, Kiké, Verdugo, and Renfroe are set and that forms a solid group that hardly costs any money at all (by MLB standards).
The big question is JD and Schwarber. I think pretty clearly they'll have one and not the other, whichever way it shakes out, based on JD's decision coming up soon.
They really should consider catcher, and it's imperative that they have better depth. When your top PH options in the playoffs are Santana and Shaw, that's a problem. But I don't know what's out there. Is Wong a possibility?
Starting pitching is in decent shape, especially if they transition Houck and Whitlock to the rotation. Sale (in his first full year post-TJ surgery) should be solid, though I don't ever expect him to return to being CHRIS SALE. He should still be solid. Eovaldi is solid. Pivetta is dirt cheap and isn't even eligible for arbitration until 2023. Those three plus Houck and Whitlock would make for a very nice rotation.
But it's the bullpen that needs a lot of work. I'd re-sign Robles. Barnes is here whether we like it or not given his price tag, unless they can trade him to a team that thinks they can rehabilitate him. Darwinzon is going to be here and the hope is that at some point in his career he can harness his stuff. He actually was pretty effective in the regular season - 3.38 era, 12.2 k/9, so you can live with his walks in the regular season. Postseason...more iffy, obviously. But a useful bullpen piece for the regular season grind. Taylor was solid and will be here. Sawamura will likely be here as well, since he's still under contract (at not much money). Brasier is under control but should get a bump in pay via arbitration.
So:
Rotation: Sale, Eovaldi, Pivetta, Houck, Whitlock
Bullpen: Sawamura, Hernandez, Barnes, Taylor, Brasier
That leaves a few bullpen spots open. From the minors, some possibilities include:
- Feltman (AA - 3.29 era, 1.21 whip, 12.2 k/9; AAA - 2.59 era, 0.90 whip, 9.2 k/9)
- Winckowski (AA - 4.14 era, 1.30 whip, 7.9 k/9; AAA - 2.25 era, 0.67 whip, 9.8 k/9)
- Crawford (AA - 3.30 era, 0.82 whip, 12.4 k/9)
- Olson (AA - 2.61 era, 1.23 whip, 10.7 k/9) - Olson at 32 y.o. isn't a prospect but has decent MLB numbers (3.83 era, 9.0 k/9)
- Ort (AAA - 2.98 era, 1.32 whip, 12.3 k/9)
So I'd like to think that there are a couple of guys in that group who could make the jump to the majors. Maybe add another solid veteran arm. They'll need someone to close out games though, and right now that guy wouldn't be on the roster IF they put Whitlock in the rotation. If they leave Whitlock in the bullpen, then there is an opening in the rotation. So who knows which direction they'll go.
But there are very real possibilities such that we should expect this team to be pretty good in 2022.