Former Red Sox Outfielder Pushes ‘Panic’ Button After Poor Play

The Boston Red Sox have a well-deserved off day after going 3-6 on their recent 10-day West Coast road trip. And with a three-game weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays starting on Friday, the team will be tasked with ending its five-game losing streak.

The Red Sox being swept by the Los Angeles Angels this week has generated plenty of concern among fans and baseball insiders, especially given the team’s offense struggling to produce runs since trading All-Star slugger Rafael Devers.

Speaking about the drop in production following the trade, former Red Sox outfielder and MLB Network analyst Chris Young was presented with three options by host Brian Kenney to describe his concern about the team’s recent performance.

“I’m at a level of panic right now,” responded Young. “When you see the offensive struggling since Devers was shipped out, yes, you have very promising young players who deserve to be in the big leagues. And I completely understand that. But now, when you lose Devers, you’re putting all of these young players in positions to where now they feel like they need to be the guy.”

Concerned about the pressure placed on Red Sox rookies Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer to fill the offensive void left behind, Young hopes the talented duo won’t let Boston’s big market expectations affect their performances.

“When you’re a young player, you want to be able to come into the big leagues and get your feet wet a little bit,” Young said. “But now, when you’re talking about a market like the Boston Red Sox, and you’re a young player, and you just lost Devers to clear the way for these young players to come and take over the organization, and the team’s message is that we’re going to win more games now than we were winning with Devers. All the pressure now naturally goes (on them).”

With the second half of the season underway, there’s plenty of time remaining for the Red Sox to emerge from their recent funk. And with Major League Baseball’s trade deadline fast approaching, the team could soon add the missing link to Alex Cora’s lineup.