Red Sox Aren’t Running From Last-Place Finishes, 2024 Expectations

The Boston Red Sox are looking to avoid their third consecutive last-place finish, and though the front-office chose not to make any overtures to the roster, the on-field contributors plan on finding success in 2024.

It’s what Red Sox manager Alex Cora expects, anyway.

Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic spent spring training speaking with members of Boston’s current roster, who highlighted the “culture change” Cora is looking to influence. It’s got a ton of information about how he went about making that change, but one of the biggest things to stand out relates to acknowledging last season.

Cora doesn’t want his team to run from the realities of a last-place finish.

“These guys, most of them, they have no clue what happened here in the last two years. It’s a new group,” Cora said. “And the guys that were here, they took it very personal. I told them, ‘You have to talk about it.'”

It’s a refreshing viewpoint, especially for fans who also aren’t going to forget about back-to-back disappointing seasons. Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story, who will be paramount in turning Boston’s fortunes around, plans on being a catalyst for change.

“The last couple of years we’ve been a good team for parts of the year, we just haven’t put together a full season. I think that’s where we need to get better,” Story said. “Those are some things that from a focus standpoint, just really resetting the culture every day.

“You’re going to see a grittiness and a hunger that really embraces the town, and that starts right here. Like I said, we’ve underperformed, there’s no doubt about that the last couple of years and no one’s happy about that. And that’s what’s driven me in the offseason, every workout, every hitting session, every throwing session.”

Boston can talk about making changes, but it will have to show its capable of doing so. If Cora’s vision comes together, the Red Sox might surprise some folks in 2024.