3 Red Sox players we’re glad are gone, 2 we wish had stayed

The Boston Red Sox have been active this offseason, but it can be questioned as to whether they’ve actually improved at all. New Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow has said all of the right things, but the Red Sox seem more focused on saving money than winning baseball games in reality, which is extremely frustrating for Red Sox fans who have had to watch their team finish at the bottom of the AL East three times in the last four seasons.

The Red Sox have made some quality additions like Lucas Giolito, Vaughn Grissom, Tyler O’Neill, and Liam Hendriks, but when looking at the pieces they’ve lost and what the rest of the division has done, it’s impossible to not be disappointed, especially when the message entering this offseason was that the organization was ready to go “full throttle.”

Some of the roster turnover was good, but fans will miss other players who wound up departing via trade or in free agency.

5. Red Sox fans won’t miss Chris Sale’s lack of durability

Will Red Sox fans miss watching Chris Sale pitch? Absolutely. They’ve already experienced that in the last four seasons as Sale has missed considerable amounts of time due to injury. He’s made just 31 starts since 2019, averaging roughly eight starts per season. For a player who was making nearly $30 million annually, that’s obviously not good enough.

When healthy, Red Sox fans know how good Chris Sale is. Sure, his ERA might’ve been a bit higher than they’re accustomed to seeing this past season, but he did have a 3.80 FIP and 3.71 xERA according to FanGraphs while striking out 11.0 batters per nine.

Red Sox fans will miss watching Sale pitch, as when he does take the ball he’s very good and a fun watch. The problem is he simply hasn’t taken the ball enough. While Lucas Giolito might not be as good as Sale, he is at the very least extremely durable.

Red Sox fans will forever remember Chris Sale who was among the best pitchers in baseball to begin his tenure in Boston and helped them win a World Series, but it just wasn’t working anymore at the end of the day. Perhaps a change of scenery can help Sale stay healthy. The Red Sox will be fine knowing they received their second baseman of the future, Vaughn Grissom, in exchange for Sale.

4. Red Sox fans will miss Justin Turner’s bat

Justin Turner only played one season in Beantown, but boy, was it a season to remember. The Red Sox took a flier on the now 39-year-old with J.D. Martinez heading to the Dodgers and it’s safe to say that their investment paid off and then some.

Turner had a big year, slashing .276/.345/.455 with 23 home runs and 96 RBI in 146 games this past season for the Red Sox, serving primarily as their DH but seeing time at three different infield positions as well.

Turner ranked third in home runs and second in RBI on a Red Sox team that happened to be very solid offensively. He hit mostly second and third, making him hard to replace. In fact, Boston has not made an effort to replace Turner at all, as they plan on simply moving Masataka Yoshida to DH full-time.

Red Sox fans will miss Turner wearing their uniform, but won’t miss watching him play too much as he signed a one-year deal to join the division-rival Blue Jays. Boston fans will see lots of Turner, as the Sox and Jays play each other 13 times this upcoming season.

3. The Red Sox will be fine without Alex Verdugo

If there’s one word that could describe Alex Verdugo’s Red Sox tenure it’d be complicated. He was a fan favorite for many and was overall a good player in his Red Sox career, but he was also a bit underwhelming.

Verdugo was the centerpiece of the Mookie Betts trade. While that’s not his fault, that did mean lofty expectations were placed on his shoulders. He was a good player, but was he Mookie Betts centerpiece good? Not quite.

In addition to Verdugo being a bit underwhelming as a player, he had several instances that led to the team benching him. Whether it was not hustling or showing up late to a game, Verdugo and manager Alex Cora didn’t have a perfect relationship by any means.

Verdugo is a fine, but replaceable player. The Red Sox did replace him rather quickly by trading for Tyler O’Neill who is a better fit for a left-handed heavy Red Sox lineup. Verdugo was also set to hit free agency at the end of the season and had not done enough to warrant an extension of any kind.

Like Turner, Red Sox fans might miss Verdugo a bit in their own uniform but will be seeing plenty of him, as Boston traded him to the Yankees in December.

2. Red Sox fans wonder why the team felt the need to trade John Schreiber

One of the more confusing moves the Red Sox made this offseason saw the team trade John Schreiber to the Royals in exchange for pitching prospect David Sandlin. It can be argued that Boston won the deal as Sandlin is a very intriguing prospect, but the Red Sox acting as if they’re trying to win while trading one of their best relievers for a prospect is not a choice many teams would’ve made.

Schreiber broke out in a big way in the 2022 season, working his way from being a minor leaguer to being arguably the most important member of their bullpen that year. He made 64 appearances that season and posted a 2.22 ERA spending most of the year as a primary set-up man.

This past season wasn’t quite as good from the right-hander as his ERA rose to 3.86 and he appeared in just 46 games, missing time due to injury, but he still figured to be an important piece for this bullpen in the 2024 season.

The Red Sox bullpen still has some good pieces even without Schreiber, but this trade was a move for the future, not for 2024. It feels like what drove the trade in the first place was simply shedding the $1.175 million Schreiber was set to make this upcoming season (which is a joke).

1. Red Sox fans won’t miss watching Kaleb Ort pitch

Why Kaleb Ort just couldn’t put it together in a Red Sox uniform is something Red Sox fans will wonder. The stuff passes the eye test. He’s armed with a fastball that averaged 95.8 mph this past season according to Baseball Savant and a slider that generated a 32.5% whiff rate. Those are just two of his four pitches.

His numbers in the minors also pass the eye test. Ort had a sub-3.00 ERA in Triple-A in 2021 and 2022, and was even better there this past season, posting a 1.54 ERA in 13 appearances and 23 innings pitched for AAA Worcester. For whatever reason, his minor-league success just did not translate to the majors.

Ort made 25 appearances and had a 6.35 ERA in 2022 for the Red Sox. He spent this past season going up and down as well, but things just didn’t click when he pitched in the majors, as he had a 6.26 ERA in 21 MLB appearances and 23 innings of work.

The Red Sox finally decided that they had enough and DFA’d the right-hander in October. After bouncing around to the Mariners, Marlins, and Phillies this offseason, Ort was traded to the Orioles in February. He could be yet another guy Red Sox fans see lots of if he makes the Orioles out of Spring Training.

This article was originally published on fansided.com as 3 Red Sox players we’re glad are gone, 2 we wish had stayed.