3 Boston Red Sox we’re glad will be gone by Spring Training 2025

The 2024 Boston Red Sox were painfully mediocre. The team finished with an 81-81 record, and were at or near the .500 mark virtually the entire way. They had some flaws and some bright spots, but overall, the team was just average.

For the Red Sox to change that in a positive way, major offseason moves will have to be made. With that in mind, it's definitely encouraging to see the Red Sox be squarely in the mix to sign Juan Soto. Whether they actually end up singing him remains to be seen, but Boston showing a real willingness to spend money can't be ignored.

Improving the roster means letting go of players who didn't get it done. These three players in particular won't be back in Boston, and Red Sox fans are happy about that.

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3) Red Sox fans are ready to put the Luis Garcia disaster behind them

The Red Sox made several trade deadline moves, but arguably the biggest one saw them acquire Luis Garcia. Their bullpen needed a boost, and Garcia was in the middle of a good year with the Los Angeles Angels. Four prospects were sent to Anaheim in exchange for Garcia. That's a deal that Craig Breslow sorely regrets making in hindsight.

Garcia made 15 appearances for Boston after being acquired, and he allowed 15 runs (14 earned) in 15.1 innings pitched. He had an 8.22 ERA. Garcia blew his only save opportunity, and had a stretch of six appearances in mid-August in which he allowed at least one run. To say that's not what you want from a guy pitching in the eighth inning most of the time would be an understatement.

Trading four prospects for a couple of months of a reliever while missing the playoffs would hurt even if that reliever pitched well. Trading for a reliever who struggled as much as Garcia did is downright brutal. The Red Sox have a lot of work to do when it comes to improving their bullpen, and Red Sox fans are thrilled that Garcia almost certainly won't be part of that equation.

2) Danny Jansen's roster spot will be better used in the 2025 season

Another one of the trade deadline deals made by Breslow saw Boston bring in Danny Jansen to replace Reese McGuire's spot on their roster. This looked like a clear upgrade on paper, but Jansen struggled mightily in his short Red Sox stint.

The 29-year-old slashed .188/.323/.300 with three home runs and six RBI in 30 games played. At the time of the deal, it felt as if the Connor Wong/Jansen tandem had a chance to be one of the better catcher duos in the American League, but it just didn't work out that way.

Wong is still the team's clear No. 1 catcher, at least for now, but Kyle Teel, one of Boston's top prospects, is awfully close to being MLB-ready. Whether he's on the team come Opening Day remains to be seen, but Teel will almost certainly be at the big league level at some point.

Many players would be upgrades over Jansen based on how he performed with the Red Sox, but Teel has the potential to be something special behind the dish for a long time.

1) Red Sox fans are better off without Nick Pivetta's inconsistency

It's been mostly a quiet offseason so far for the Red Sox, but one clear win already was Nick Pivetta receiving and rejecting the qualifying offer. Pivetta had reasons to accept it, but chose instead to test free agency, ensuring that the Red Sox would earn a draft pick if he were to depart.

Pivetta has been a durable starter for the Red Sox since he was acquired in the middle of the 2020 season and has flashed elite strikeout stuff, but his inconsistency is something that Red Sox fans won't miss if he does depart.

Just this season, Pivetta had five starts in which he allowed five or more earned runs and another five in which he went at least five innings and didn't allow a single earned run. For the most part, he was either fantastic or ineffective, which can be maddening. Perhaps another team can help him unlock more consistency, but it just wasn't happening in Boston.

Pivetta's ability to take the ball every fifth day and eat innings will be missed, but the fact that he posted ERAs over 4.00 in each of his four full seasons with the Red Sox shows that he's extremely replaceable. Red Sox fans will hope that the team can find more consistency in Pivetta's rotation slot, and will be thrilled with Craig Breslow adding a draft pick assuming the right-hander signs elsewhere.