The Red Sox open the 2023 season on Thursday at home against the Baltimore Orioles.
It’s been an up-and-down few years for Boston. The 2021 run to the ALCS has been sandwiched between last-place AL East finishes. Projections don’t expect much — Fangraphs thinks the Sox will finish at .500 and outside of the playoffs. But manager Alex Cora has some thoughts on that.
“From my end, I bet on my team. Some people call it cockiness, others confidence. I feel this is a good group,” Cora told the Globe’s Peter Abraham. “Do we have to be on point and is there a small margin for error? I believe so. Everybody knows it.
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“But the division is the same way. The closest thing to a perfect team right now is Houston because they have what others don’t have: cheap pitching. I do believe if everything goes well — and health is the most important thing — we have a good team.”
Read the Globe’s Red Sox season preview below.
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Chaim Bloom is transforming the Red Sox. What does the future hold?
The chief baseball officer is entering his fourth season at the helm. With the 2023 season upon us, there remain more questions than answers about the team’s strategy and future. Alex Speier set out to answer them here.
Alex Cora believes
The Red Sox manager is bullish on his team: “This group knows what we can do,” He told Abraham, “but the world doesn’t.”
Read the full story on the manager entering 2023 here.
Will they or won’t they?
What can we expect from the Red Sox in 2023? Nobody knows.
On one hand, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom says, “It’s going to be awesome” when the Sox put it together. He believes the team is on a path back to the postseason.
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On the outside, few expect it will be this season. The Sox patched the holes on their roster with veteran free agents, and expectations are as low as they’ve been in years.
Which way will it go? Globe baseball columnists Peter Abraham and Alex Speier offer different scenarios for the coming season.
Peter Abraham: For an unpredictable Red Sox team, let’s call it 86 wins and in contention for a playoff spot
Alex Speier: Why projection systems don’t like the 2023 Red Sox
Dan Shaughnessy
For one shining moment, let’s have no snark. No cynicism. No wiseguy remarks about bat-to-ball skills, spin rate, analytic geeks, standing ovations in Springfield, or payroll flexibility.
Let’s celebrate the start of another baseball season. The Red Sox are 0-0 and not yet poisoned by last place or false narratives. Read the rest of his Opening Day column here.
Staff predictions
Seven writers made their division, league championship, and World Series picks. Not one has the Red Sox in the playoffs.
See which teams they like this year.
2023 Red Sox roster
Get to know the names and details of who is most likely to make the 2023 Opening Day roster with Julian McWilliams’s breakdown. Read it here.
Rafael Devers is the cornerstone
Rafael Devers is a big leaguer and then some. He’s a two-time All-Star, a World Series champion, and he owns a Silver Slugger award. He holds the team record for homers by a third baseman.
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He’s also the ray of hope for the Red Sox, the franchise player the team has hitched its wagon to for the foreseeable future, the one sure thing it has. Read the rest of the story here.
Now you tell us
How will the Red Sox do in 2023? Leave your comments here.
Katie McInerney can be reached at katie.mcinerney@globe.com. Follow her @k8tmac.