One Lesson Red Sox Can Take From Each MLB Playoff Team
The Boston Red Sox will sit through October without playing in the MLB playoffs for the second straight season and the third time in four seasons.
With the wild-card series in the books, eight teams remain as the League Division Series begins this weekend after the Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks and the Miami Marlins were eliminated.
Each team has a staple of their organization that has brought them into contention.
If the Red Sox look to return to the postseason for the first time since 2021, here is a lesson they can take from each playoff team in 2023.
– Orioles: Be Patient With Prospects
The Orioles went through a massive rebuild to the largest degree. The team endured multiple 100-loss seasons, knowing that the development of their farm system would reward them.
Now in 2023, the Orioles won 100 games and their first American League East title since 2014. A new young core of Gunnar Henderson, Ryan Mountcastle, Anthony Santander, Austin Hays and Adley Rutschman drive the Orioles after rising as top prospects.
Baltimore still owns the No. 8 farm system in baseball, according to Fangraphs. A number of elite prospects are still on the way in Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad among a series of others. Baltimore is going to be a great team for years to come and that stems from faith in the farm system.
The Red Sox have a chance to develop multiple top prospects into legitimate major league contributors as early as next season. Players such as Marcelo Mayer, Kyle Teel, Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wikelman Gonzalez are all talented up-and-comers that helped the Red Sox stand out as a top-five farm system in baseball.
If the Red Sox hold onto these key prospects, they could follow in the Orioles’ footsteps to their next young core.
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– Rangers: Add Impact Players In Waves
The Texas Rangers did not return to contention overnight. While young pieces emerged, the front office made incremental splashes to supplement the core. First, it was the middle infield signings of slugging, double-play partners Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. Next, they found an innings-eater for the rotation in Nathan Eovaldi. Most recently, the Rangers further bolstered the rotation at the trade deadline with deals for Max Scherzer (who suffered a season-ending injury) and Jordan Montgomery.
The Red Sox have made impact signings for the long-term in each of the last two offseasons, with shortstop Trevor Story before the 2022 season and outfielder Masataka Yoshida prior to 2023. Now, Boston can further spend to add more impact pieces in the next wave of this offseason. Most likely, that will come with a starting pitching splash.
– Phillies: Quality Starting Pitching Leads To October
The Philadelphia Phillies had an energizing combination in 2022 of a power-hitting lineup and notably, a legitimate starting rotation, to win the National League pennant.
Headed by Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia identified two high-quality starters at the top of the rotation to work deep into games and consistently give their team a chance to win.
The Red Sox absolutely need to add an ace this offseason and more likely, two top-end arms to lead the rotation and restore quality starts back to the Boston pitching staff.
Who knows? Nola could be one of those additions as the right-hander heads to free agency this winter.
– Braves: Extend Young Talent Early On
There may not be a better model of how to manage young talent than the Atlanta Braves. When their young core proved to be one of the best in baseball, the front office made sure that their young players would wear Braves uniforms for years to come. In most cases, the team chose long-term contracts instead of battling through arbitration years.
For reference, the following Braves are all under contract through at least 2028: Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Spencer Strider, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy and Michael Harris.
That is a special core that is not going anywhere.
The Red Sox have a number of young, talented players who have proven they would be worthy of similar deals. Specifically, Boston needs to find a way to extend Triston Casas and Brayan Bello into these deals. Those developments could also become major plans for this winter.
– Dodgers: Spend For Stars
The Los Angeles Dodgers are elite for several reasons.
They develop talent well. They make hard decisions on which players to prioritize in their core. While they may appear to just spend and spend, they pick and choose the times to do so on worthy players, most notably with Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
The Red Sox should not try to be the Dodgers by going out this winter and spending aimlessly. With that said, if there is a chance to acquire a game-changer, Boston should take the chance with that investment. Players such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani would fall under that category. Even a tier below on a more realistic scale, rotation improvements such as Aaron Nola and Blake Snell should not be shied away from for financial reasons.
– Diamondbacks: Give Young Big-Leaguers Time To Develop
Like other organizations on this list, being patient with player development helped the Arizona Diamondbacks return to the postseason.
The team built a strong future with talented players in Ketel Marte, Christian Walker, Corbin Carroll and Zac Gallen. As those players reached the majors, contention was not immediate. As they were given time to grow, the core found its footing to reach the postseason and sweep the Milwaukee Brewers, who eliminated them from the 2011 NLDS.
This trend in Boston’s situation applies to the young players who just finished full big league seasons. For as good as Triston Casas and Brayan Bello were, they have room to grow and committing to them with time and supplemental players will drive the Red Sox forward. At the age of 26, Jarren Duran reached his potential in 2023 as well after the organization believed in him to keep the speedy outfielder around.
– Twins: Maintain A Quality Back End Of The Bullpen
Despite a lower win total than most playoff teams after winning a weak American League Central, the Minnesota Twins do indeed have talent, specifically at the back of the bullpen. Emilio Pagán and Jhoan Duran were outstanding down the stretch to nail down wins in the bullpen.
With both under contract, Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen provide the same for the Red Sox with different skill sets. Keeping those two arms healthy is a major priority for 2024 with a pair of relievers that can lead Boston to October.
– Astros: Find New Ways To Develop Pitching
Despite a down year for the rotation, the Red Sox do have a number of talented arms in Chris Sale, Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford among others. Having capable arms is good. The next stage is finding ways to unlock their next progression.
Few teams have found those levels like the Houston Astros. Their organizational pitching development has been second to none during a stretch that has seen the team advance to the ALCS for six straight seasons. With an emphasis on challenging hitters with plus-pitches and high spin rates, pitchers such as Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez and Ryan Pressly have gone from great to an even higher level.
Can the Red Sox find a way to make these kinds of adjustments with their current pitchers and any offseason additions?