It’s been an offseason full of ups and downs for the Boston Red Sox.
The team lost Xander Bogaerts to the San Diego Padres and ultimately are feeling the effects with Trevor Story expected to miss a significant amount of time.
J.D. Martinez also departed via free agency, as did Rich Hill and Nathan Eovaldi, with Michael Wacha expected to follow suit.
But there were some key moves that were made.
They added Masataka Yoshida, Justin Turner, and Adam Duvall to bolster the offense while also adding veteran pitchers Kenley Jansen and Corey Kluber.
On Twitter, one Red Sox fan made a bold prediction, saying that the team could surprise a lot of people in 2023.
The Red Sox have been getting a lot of hate this offseason, fans and media included. Yes, part of it is well deserved but some of it has been just to make them look bad or to kick them while they’re down but I’m here to tell you that this team will prove a lot of people wrong.
— Boston Strong (@BostonStrong_34) February 2, 2023
Granted, it’s going to be difficult.
The American League East is one of, if not the toughest division in all of baseball.
Boston finished at the bottom in 2022 with just 78 wins.
But the Red Sox do have a recent history of surprising the doubters.
10 years ago, the team was coming off of three consecutive years out of the postseason and a last-place finish.
Not much was expected of them.
But they won 97 games and rode that momentum to a World Series title.
A similar situation played out in 2021.
On the heels of a last-place finish, the team won 92 games and secured a Wild Card spot, taking the Houston Astros six games in the ALCS.
Perhaps some more magic could take place in 2023 as they look to prove the naysayers wrong.
The team certainly isn’t devoid of talent, and could be a pleasant surprise.
NEXT: Red Sox Writer Ponders An Important Question For 2023
