Boston Red Sox: Now Eliminated, Look to Build For Another Title Run In 2011

Dustin TurnerSep 28, 2010

Tuesday night brought about many champagne baths and joyous embraces in the American League East as both the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees celebrated playoff spot clinching victories.

All the while, Red Sox fans who are famous for never giving up hope, had none such to cling to. They watched all season long as their injury ravaged roster continued to provide faint glimpses of hope. To their credit, GM Theo Epstein and Manager Terry Francona did a fantastic job of finding role players to fill gaping holes once occupied by All-Stars. Former journeyman players such as Bill Hall, Darnell McDonald, Daniel Nava, and Scott Atchison continued to step up in the big moments and young players Ryan Kalish and Jed Lowrie showed good promise with their approaches at the plate and in the field.

With that being said, Red Sox fans do not pay season ticket prices to watch Darnell McDonald and Bill Hall hit high in the order. Things have changed greatly in the past decade. Red Sox Nation now expects to win, every year. The front office shares this expectation, which is why this season can be seen as nothing more than a supreme disappointment given the offseason additions of what turned out to be a struggling John Lackey on the hill and a reborn Adrian Beltre at the plate.

Now eliminated, I'm sure GM Theo Epstein already has the wheels turning in his head as to what to do with this team come November through February. There are plenty of questions as to exactly what the 2011 Boston Red Sox will look like when the team takes the field at Fenway in April.

Theo stares at an interesting situation: There is plenty of money coming off the books, but plenty of talent as well. Julio Lugo's $9 million salary will no longer haunt the payroll, neither will Mike Lowell's $13 million as the broken down former World Series MVP eyes retirement. Those two players already give the front office $22 million to use as they see fit, and although David Ortiz's $12.5 million option looms, it seems they will likely decline the option and re-sign the slugger at a significant discount.

The major talent concerns are that both third baseman Adrian Beltre and catcher Victor Martinez are eligible for free agency, and it would be no surprise if neither return as they will both be seeking long term deals, which this Red Sox regime has been hesitant to give out. Also, on the heels on a shaky at best year from one time shutdown closer Jonathan Papelbon (who made $9 million this year), the Sox may see a much cheaper and possibly more reliable option in the young fireballer Daniel Bard, who packs a filthy slider breaking away from right handed hitters to complement his 100 mph heater.

All these questions mean that we could be looking at a very different Red Sox team in 2011. The bullpen was severely unreliable this season and the Sox will probably start from scratch with their middle relievers, which will happen through a series of free agency signings, trades, and present minor leaguers.

I see them re-signing Beltre for 3-4 years as the splits dictate that his MVP caliber season wasn't simply another product of a right-handed hitter playing 81 games at Fenway Park. Martinez is becoming decreasingly serviceable behind home plate and the team will scour the market for a better defensive catcher with some upside in his bat, which they may already have in Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Ellsbury's season long injury problems depleted any threat of the stolen base from the Sox, upgrading speed on the bases and in the outfield may result in their biggest offseason signing in the person on Carl Crawford. This would likely mean the end of Mike Cameron's tenure in Boston.

Whether I am guessing correctly or not, there is certainty in one thing: Red Sox management will do all they can to prevent another year like 2010. Look for them to re-tool and once again be a team to beat come October 2011.