Fansided

3 early-season Red Sox overreactions that will age like milk

The Boston Red Sox have one of the better rosters in baseball, but that hasn't stopped the media from overreacting.
Boston Red Sox v Toronto Blue Jays
Boston Red Sox v Toronto Blue Jays | Cole Burston/GettyImages

The Boston Red Sox were a borderline postseason team in 2024, but ultimately didn't have the pieces to make it. Instead, they watched from home as their archrival New York Yankees won their way to a World Series appearance.

During the offseason, the Red Sox seemingly vowed to not let something like this happen again. Boston began the offseason by acquiring ace Garrett Crochet. Boston would also sign Walker Buehler and star third baseman Alex Bregman. Their offseason may have been the best in the league in terms of adding talent.

Because of this, the Red Sox have been in the news quite a bit early this season. Their record isn't incredible, but they've been solid to this point.

With the Red Sox in the news so much, there's bound to be some crazy overreactions surrounding the team and their roster.

What are some of the worst overreactions revolving around the Red Sox this season?

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Overreaction: The Red Sox should trade Rafael Devers

The first overreaction on this list sparked up recently after Rafael Devers reportedly refused to move from DH to first base with the injury to Triston Casas. There are members of the media suggesting the Red Sox should trade Devers since he's seemingly not a team player.

But these rumors are ridiculous. The Red Sox committed over $300 million to Devers because he's a key part of their franchise. They want him in Boston, and he wants to be there. If he doesn't want to play first base, the Red Sox can find a first baseman instead of panicking and trading him.

There have been no reports coming from Boston or Devers' camp indicating either side thinks a trade make sense. Any rumors swirling around the game are purely speculative at this point, which makes it that much more ridiculous that we're talking about this.

Suggesting Devers should be traded is one of the bigger overreactions in sports right now. The Red Sox would be making a $300 million mistake if they decided to move him right now, even if he's refusing to move positions.

Overreaction: The Red Sox need to add a starting pitcher or they will miss the postseason

The Red Sox's pitching rotation hasn't been a strength this season, but it's not a pressing need. They have talent like Garrett Crochet at the top of it, but pitchers like Tanner Houck and Sean Newcomb haven't been great. But Boston has quite a bit of depth in the rotation. Despite this depth, a lot of analysts have suggested the Red Sox need to add starting pitching or they won't make the postseason.

This is quite the overreaction considering the fact that Boston has guys like Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito returning from injuries. Houck has been quite bad this season, but Boston could transition him to the bullpen or move him to Triple-A if he continues to struggle with an ERA north of 6.00.

Either way, the solution to the issue at hand isn't to deal away top prospects to bring in a rental starting pitcher. Trusting the guys on the roster, including prospects like Hunter Dobbins and Richard Fitts, makes a lot more sense than panicking and swinging a trade for a rental.

Overreaction: The Red Sox need to call up Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer right now

This one stems from the excitement revolving around the best prospects in Boston's system: shortstop Marcelo Mayer and outfielder Roman Anthony. I'm as excited as the next guy because these two have the potential to be superstars in the big leagues. But that doesn't mean they need to be called up right now.

In fact, it's probably better they're not in the big leagues until there's a spot in the lineup for them everyday. With Devers plugging the DH slot for seemingly the rest of the season, that's not an option for either of the two. Trevor Story is playing shortstop and he's playing it very well right now for the Red Sox. That leaves Mayer without a spot in his natural position unless the Red Sox suffer an injury to one of their three everyday infielders.

For Anthony, the outfield is plugged up with a few different hitters. There could be a chance for him to platoon in the big leagues, but he's just 20 years old. He would benefit a lot more in Triple-A seeing everyday at bats.

While calling this duo up would be the fun thing to do, it's not the smartest option on the table.

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