Alex Cora. External Source
Occasionally, you can win in the winter and then win for real. The Dodgers just did that. They won last offseason, when they signed Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Although Ohtani suffered a shoulder injury late, Yamamoto won two postseason games – one in the World Series – and the Dodgers won the championship.
Now, less than a month after the Dodgers sealed their World Series title against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, we’re waiting to see who will have the better winter this time around – looking to take the throne from Los Angeles. , unless this club swings the stands once again like the one they did with Ohtani.
But a better question might be this:
Which team needs to have the best offseason?
You already know that the Yankees, in their attempt to renew with the Dominican Juan Soto, will try to win the winter with the intention of achieving their first World Series crown since 2009. The Mets, who will also reunite with Soto, want to win the winter , because they proved to be on par with the Dodgers by challenging them even more than the Yankees in the postseason.
The Phillies, who were eliminated by the Mets in what seemed to be their year, want to show that their window to win a title is not closing yet. The Astros, who went on to participate in seven consecutive American League Championship Series, want to prove that their recent setback against the Tigers was a fluke. The Padres, who have been knocking on the door in recent years, are looking to show that they are not afraid of the big bets. The Orioles, with all the young talent they have, want to finally have a long postseason.
But there is no team, none, that needs to have a more important offseason than the Red Sox, because their last World Series – their fourth this century and in the last 15 years – in 2018 is starting to feel like an eternity ago. for Boston fans, especially after the star of that squad, Mookie Betts, continues to shine with the Dodgers after the Red Sox traded him a year and a half after that last ring.
Juan Soto solo home run
That seems to be the main reason why the Red Sox need Soto perhaps more than the Yankees or the Mets, whose owners Hal Steinbrenner and Steve Cohen are preparing for their own Subway Series.
Have Red Sox fans gotten used to it since what happened in October 2004, when they overcame an 0-3 ALCS deficit against the Yankees, changing baseball history? Yes. It’s hard to think that it was just three years ago, in October 2021, when Boston was up 2-1 against the Astros in the ALCS, being very close to returning to the World Series, before they stopped hitting.
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Afterwards, the club finished in last place. The same the following year. Last season, they finished in third place in the American League East Division, with a record of 81-81. But in addition to a good moment in the middle of the campaign that began by winning a series against the Yankees at Fenway Park in June, they finished five games behind the Tigers and Royals in the fight for the Wild Card, and 10 behind the Orioles .
This is what the team manager, Puerto Rican Alex Cora, said when the championship ended:
“I really trust that this was the last hurdle. “I think we’re going to turn the page in the offseason.”
With that fan base, the Red Sox have to turn the page and become a serious contender. For that, they have to go all out for Soto. What they should consider is having David Ortiz, also from Quisqueya, present. The Yankees always sell winning. Ortiz, the main star of three of those Boston championships, knows more than anyone what it’s like to win in the 21st century.
Do the Red Sox need pitching – both starting and relief pitching? Of course. Would getting Soto put them ahead of the Orioles and Yankees in the division? No. But it would send a message to Red Sox fans that the team is serious about seeking another World Series. And besides, what greater enjoyment for Boston fans to see their team hurt the New York Yankees?
Is the possibility of the Red Sox hiring Soto remote? Probably. But it was a little more than 20 years ago when they acquired a Dominican left-handed hitter named Ortiz, who ended up changing the history of baseball. This is your chance to grab another star. Ortiz cost just US$1.25 million at the time. Soto will cost much more. But at this particular moment in Red Sox history, it might be worth it.
Via: MLB.com
