Despite their recent woes, one can’t ignore the fact that the Boston Red Sox are one of the most successful baseball franchise of the 21st century. After an 86-year drought, the BoSox ended up winning four Fall Classics. However, currently, the team looks quite far from its heydays. With two successive AL East last-place finishes, things are bleak in Beantown. But in an Exclusive interview with EssentiallySports, Ryan Lavarnway, part of the 2013 World Series winning squad, shared his belief in the Red Sox system.
Despite going through a disastrous spell, the Red Sox have remained firm in their strategy of focusing more on the farm. While this has led to the creation of some exciting prospects, the lack of offseason market activity has proven detrimental to the team’s fortunes. However, Lavarnway believes that things could get better eventually.
Boston Red Sox could start scripting their comeback
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Things haven’t been the same around Boston ever since 2018 – the last time the Red Sox won the World Series. Gradually the newfound Red Sox dynasty fell off the cliff. Partly it was their own doing, partly it was the league catching up. The team that used to be at the top of the payroll ranking is barely hanging on to the top 10. This offseason hasn’t been much different with the BoSox not making many moves. When asked by EssentiallySports’ Abhay Agrawal, former Red Sox Ryan Lavarnway had this to say.
“So Craig Breslow is their new head of baseball operations. He’s a good friend of mine and someone that I have just total faith in total belief in. I think he’s, you know, so, so smart. And I think that if they didn’t do a lot, that’s probably because they believe in what they already have,” Lavarnway argued.
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This reason has been cited by several experts. The Sox’s quest to become more sustainable has led to them focusing less on big-time free-agent signings. However, that hasn’t been a fruitful act yet. According to Baseball America, the Red Sox have the 13th best farm system in all of MLB. They’re ranked behind three of their AL East rivals (Baltimore Orioles – 1st, Tampa Bay Rays – 7th, New York Yankees – 9th).
But Lavarnway’s belief stems from the simple fact, “I fully believe in Craig Breslow. I fully believe in his leadership and his intelligence and without knowing more about that division, I think they’re probably headed in the right direction.”
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Breslow hasn’t had the hottest of starts this offseason. Despite being linked with various free agents, the Red Sox have remained on the fringes. But with the team still strongly linked with Jordan Montgomery, things could change rather quickly. One hopes they do. A great Red Sox makes the league more fun.
