Boston Red Sox
2010 Record: 89-73
818 RS, 744 RA, Pythagorean Record: 89-73

Manager: Terry Francona
GM: Theo Epstein

Free Agents:
Matt Albers, RP (1, TBD); Scott Atchison, RP ($440k team option); Carl Crawford, OF (7, $142MM); Bobby Jenks, RP (2, $12MM); Hideki Okajima, RP (1, $1.75MM); David Ortiz, DH ($12.5MM team option); Jason Varitek, C (1, $2MM); Dan Wheeler, RP (1O, $3MM; $3MM team option).

Minor League FA:
Jason Bergmann, P; Charlis Burdie, P; Chia-Chu Chen, C; Lenny DiNardo, P; Brent Dlugach, SS; Brandon Ducksworth, P; Matt Fox, P; Ryan Harvey, P; Rich Hill, P; Paul Hoover, C; Tommy Hottovy, P; Sean Killeen, C; Matt Kramer, P; Nestor Lastreto, P; Santos Luis, ; Hector Luna, 2B; Andrew Miller, P; Jordan Sallis, 2B; Nate Spears, P; Drew Sutton, OF; Richie Wasielewski, P; Randy Williams, P.

Rule V Pick:
None

Trades:
Received Brent Dlugach (SS) from the Tigers for a player to be named later*; Received Adrian Gonzalez (1B) from the Padres for Reymond Fuentes (OF), Casey Kelly (P), Eric Patterson (2B), and Anthony Rizzo (1B); Received Andrew Miller (P) from the Marlins for Dustin Richardson (P)**; Received Tony Thomas (2B) from the Cubs for Robert Coello (P).

* Dlugach was non-tendered and re-signed as a minor league free agent.
** Miller was non-tendered and re-signed as a minor league free agent.

Waiver Claims:
Taylor Buchholz, RP (from the Blue Jays)*; Jordan Parraz, OF**; Max Ramirez, C (from the Rangers)***.

* Buchholz was non-tendered and signed by the Mets.
** Parraz was placed on waivers again and selected by the Yankees.
*** Ramirez was placed on waivers again and selected by the Cubs.

Players Lost:
Chez Angeloni, P; Adrian Beltre, 3B; Dusty Brown, C; Taylor Buchholz, RP; Cesar Cabral, P; Fernando Cabrera, RP; Kevin Cash, C; Fabio Castro, P; Ray Chang, 2B; Randy Consuegra, P; Carlos Delgado, 1B; Bill Hall, 3B; Zach Hammes, P; Jack Hannahan, 3B; Mark Holliman, P; Tyler Lavigne, P; Felipe Lopez, 2B; Mike Lowell, 3B; Robert Manuel, P; Victor Martinez, C; Wilson Matos, P; Gustavo Molina, C; Chad Paronto, P; Max Ramirez, C; Ramon A. Ramirez, P; Niuman Romero, SS; Patrick Ryan, P; Maykol Sanchez, C; Scott Schoeneweis, RP; Luis Segovia, 2B; Ryan Shealy, 1B; Jon Still, 1B; Daniel Turpen, P; Gil Velazquez, SS; Felix Ventura, P; Armando Zerpa, P.

Top 15 Prospects
1. Anthony Ranaudo, RHP
2. Jose Iglesias, SS
3. Brandon Workman, RHP
4. Josh Reddick, OF
5. Kolbrin Vitek, 2B
6. Garin Cecchini, 3B
7. Lars Anderson, 1B
8. Yamaico Navarro, SS
9. Stolmy Pimentel, RHP
10. Bryce Brentz, OF
11. Drake Britton, LHP
12. Oscar Tejada, 2B
13. Will Middlebrooks, 3B
14. Felix Doubront, LHP
15. Michael Bowden, RHP

The system took a definite hit when 3 of the top 10 prospects were used to acquire Adrian Gonzalez; I’d say Casey Kelly was #1 and Anthony Rizzo was in the #2-4 range. They have a few good pieces towards the top, but some of the later prospects seem a little bland.

2010 Review:
89 wins for a lot of teams would have been a good season. For the Red Sox, it was a disappointment. The team finished third and missed the playoffs.

The pitching got off to a slow start; John Lackey was not the ace we’ve seen before he signed. Jon Lester had a few bad starts at the beginning of the season as well; he ended up having a really good season though.

Injuries killed the hitting. Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Cameron, and Jed Lowrie all missed time. It caused the team to rely on players like Darnell McDonald and Daniel Nava – not the star power people in Boston are used to.

The main bright spot was Adrian Beltre, who had a career year.

2011 Preview:
Theo Epstein wanted to make a splash and he did. He signed the top hitting free agent and traded for the second best first baseman in the National League.

Carl Crawford will prove to be reliable in the outfield and pushes Cameron to a 4th outfielder role. He’ll be a nice addition to the top of their line up.

Adding Gonzalez will definitely make up for the loss of Beltre (who declined his player option). Gonzalez should hit 40 homers easily in Boston. His addition moves Youkilis to his natural position of 3rd base.

The pitching is pretty much the same; there are some new names in the bullpen, but nothing that will make them any worse off. If anything, they’ll have a closer in place (Bobby Jenks) if Jonathan Papelbon doesn’t get an extension.

From the Bloggers:
Brian Phair, BoSox Injection: The expectations for the 2011 Boston Red Sox team are through the roof. With the off-season additions of 1B Adrian Gonzalez and OF Carl Crawford, fans are buzzing about the rejuvenated lineup. The Sox starting rotation is one of the best in baseball with Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Lackey had a decent 2010 season and Matsuzaka has been an underachiever since arriving in Boston, but as 4th and 5th starters, it’s hard to argue with their overall potential, even in just an average year. Both have the potential to win 15+ games from the back-end of the rotation. The final piece is the bullpen. The additions of Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler will provide strong veteran arms in the 7th inning and provide some support for Daniel Bard as a set-up man in the 8th. If Jonathan Papelbon can return to his normal shut-down numbers in 2011 (a contract year), this team will be special.

More so than in the past, the atmosphere around Boston seems to be World Series or bust. The Boston media and fan base always have astronomically high expectations and with the amount of money and prospects the Red Sox front office invested in high quality talent this off-season, this year is no exception. That being said, they still play in the AL East and have to face teams like the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays night after night, making any path to the World Series a tough road. My prediction is 96 wins for the Red Sox in 2011, which would allow them to win the AL East by 3 games over the New York Yankees. Let the games begin…

Prediction:
1st Place.