3 players who need to step up for Red Sox to make playoffs

If the Boston Red Sox are going to make the playoffs this year, these 3 players must step up.

The 2019 season will go down as a disappointing one for the Boston Red Sox, with an 84-78 record which left them 19 games out of first place in the AL East. A high payroll is only equaled by high expectations in Boston.

Then the Red Sox went and traded away two of their best players this offseason. Outfielder Mookie Betts is now a Los Angeles Dodger, and it can’t be forgotten the trade also sent left-hander David Price to Los Angeles.

There is still plenty of talent on the Red Sox roster, particularly offensively. But the starting rotation took another hit, as Chris Sale will miss the entire coming season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March. Depth has been added, but there’s no replacing a healthy Sale.

A 60-game MLB season opens up all kind of possibilities. But if the Red Sox are going to make the playoffs this year, these three players will have to step up.

3. IF Michael Chavis

In his first 10 major league games after being called up last year (39 plate appearances), Chavis posted a 1.061 OPS (.313/.436/.625 slash-line) with three home runs. Even through May, he had 10 home runs. But his OPS went below .800 in May, June and July, before a shoulder injury sidelined him and in combination with an oblique strain during his minor league rehab stint, his season ended early.

Chavis’ primary value is offensively, and last year’s first taste of big-league pitching will only benefit him. He’s in line to split time between first base and second base this season, and there’s a decent chance he plays all 60 games of the short season.

Chavis has 30-homer potential in a typical season. He may not have quite gotten there if 2020 was going to be a normal season, but a nice (if prorated) step would be something the Red Sox are looking for.