The 2023 Boston Red Sox season was the 123rd season in Boston Red Sox franchise history, and their 112th season at Fenway Park. The team was led by Alex Cora, in the third season of his second stint as the team's manager.

The Red Sox began their regular season on March 30, in a home game against the Baltimore Orioles. On September 14, Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom, who joined the team following the 2019 season, was fired, and Brian O'Halloran was removed as general manager, although not fired. On September 20, the team was eliminated from playoff contention for the second straight season. The team's season ended on October 1, finishing with a record of 78–84, in last place of the American League East. The Red Sox ranked last in fielding among Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, and were criticized for poor pitching, lack of pitching depth, and roster management.

Offseason

The team entered the offseason with the status of several players, most notably Xander Bogaerts, unclear due to expiring contracts or opt-out clauses.

Rule changes

MLB adopted several rule changes during the offseason. Briefly:

• A pitch clock will now be used.
• Pitchers are now limited to two "disengagements" (such as making a pickoff throw) during each batter's plate appearance.
• Use of the infield shift is now restricted.
• All three bases are increased from 15 inches (38 cm) square to 18 inches (46 cm) square.

Additionally announced in February:

• As was first done during the shortened 2020 season, all extra innings during the regular season will start with a runner on second base.
• When a position player can pitch has been slightly adjusted, based on the size of a team's lead and the inning.

Spring training

"Truck day", when the tractor-trailer carrying the team's equipment departs Fenway Park for Florida, was February 3. The Red Sox had their first spring training game on February 24, a 5–3 exhibition win over the Northeastern Huskies at JetBlue Park. The Red Sox defeated Team Puerto Rico, 9–3, in an exhibition game on March 8. The Red Sox' preseason concluded on March 28. Boston's Grapefruit League schedule featured 18 home games and 16 away games. The team posted a 14–14 record while scoring 164 runs and allowing 161.

Regular season

For the first time, MLB scheduled each team in the league to play every other team in the league during the regular season, resulting in Boston facing National League (NL) teams 46 times, compared to 20 times under prior scheduling. The team's schedule was constructed by MLB as follows:

• 13 games  ×  4 AL East teams (Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles, Rays) = 52 games
•  7 games  ×  4 AL teams (Astros, Royals, Angels, Twins) = 28 games
•  6 games  ×  6 AL teams (White Sox, Guardians, Tigers, Athletics, Mariners, Rangers) = 36 games
•  4 games  ×  1 NL team (Braves) = 4 games
•  3 games  ×  14 NL teams (all other NL teams) = 42 games

Total: 162 games

Opening Day lineup

Source:

Season standings

American League East

Record vs. opponents

Record vs. American League

Updated with the results of all games through October 1, 2023.

Record vs. National League

Updated with the results of all games through October 1, 2023.

Game log

Grand slams

Ejections

† Crawford was on the injured list at the time of his ejection, which resulted from a pre-game staring contest with Matt Strahm of the Phillies, who was also ejected.

Source:

Roster

MLB debuts

Red Sox players who made their MLB debuts during the 2023 regular season:

• March 30: Masataka Yoshida
• April 19: Enmanuel Valdez
• June 7: Chris Murphy
• June 12: Joe Jacques
• June 21: David Hamilton
• June 22: Brandon Walter
• August 22: Wilyer Abreu
• August 28: Ceddanne Rafaela

Player statistics

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average

Source:[1]

Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

• Note: No pitchers qualified for league ERA title because of no pitchers averaging 1 IP per game (162 IP).

Source:[2]

Transactions

Notable transactions of/for players on the 40-man roster during the 2023 regular season:

• On April 16, the team claimed pitcher Brennan Bernardino off waivers from the Seattle Mariners; in a corresponding move, Zack Kelly was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
• On April 17, pitcher Jake Faria was designated for assignment when the team activated Brayan Bello from the injured list. Faria was later sent outright to the Worcester Red Sox.
• On April 28, the team claimed pitcher Justin Garza off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels.
• On May 5, the team acquired minor-league pitcher Zack Littell from the Texas Rangers for cash considerations; he was added to Boston's active roster the following day. He was designated for assignment on May 10, and subsequently claimed by the Tampa Bay Rays.
• On May 12, the team acquired minor-league utility player Pablo Reyes from the Oakland Athletics for cash considerations; the following day, his contract was selected to the active roster.
• On May 15, the team designated pitcher Ryan Brasier for assignment. The following day, the team selected the contract of Ryan Sherriff, who had been pitching for Worcester, to the active roster. Brasier was released on May 21.
• On June 5, outfielder Raimel Tapia was designated for assignment, as the team cleared roster space to activate Christian Arroyo from the injured list. Tapia was released by the team on June 11.
• On June 8, the team added Worcester pitcher Matt Dermody to the 40-man and active rosters in order to make a start against the Cleveland Guardians; he was designated for assignment after the game. Dermody was sent outright to Worcester on June 11, and released on June 16.
• On June 9, the team added Worcester pitcher Joe Jacques to the 40-man and active rosters.
• On June 22, the team added backup catcher Caleb Hamilton to the 40-man and active rosters; in a corresponding move, Yu Chang was place on the 60-day injured list.
• On July 6, the team signed catcher Jorge Alfaro to a major-league contract; in a corresponding move, Caleb Hamilton was designated for assignment. Hamilton was later sent outright to Worcester.
• On July 7, Ryan Sherriff was designated for assignment. He later elected to become a free agent rather than accepting a minor-league assignment.
• On July 16, the team re-added Jake Faria to the 40-man and active rosters; in a corresponding move, Tayler Scott was designated for assignment. Faria was designated for assignment the following day. Scott was subsequently claimed off waivers by Oakland, while Faria cleared waivers and was sent outright to Worcester.
• On July 25, the team traded Kiké Hernández to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor-league pitchers Nick Robertson and Justin Hagenman.
• On July 26, the team acquired relief pitcher Mauricio Llovera from the San Francisco Giants for minor-league pitcher Marques Johnson.
• On August 1, the day of the MLB trade deadline, the team acquired infielder Luis Urías from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor-league pitcher Bradley Blalock. Also, the team designated catcher Jorge Alfaro for assignment. Alfaro later elected to become a free agent.
• On August 4, the team designated Christian Arroyo for assignment. He was later sent outright to Worcester.
• On August 7, the team added pitcher Dinelson Lamet to the 40-man and active rosters; in a corresponding move, pitcher Richard Bleier was designated for assignment. Bleier was released two days later.
• On August 8, Yu Chang was designated for assignment upon the return of Trevor Story from the 60-day injured list. Chang later accepted an assignment to Worcester.
• On August 9, Dinelson Lamet was designated for assignment, and the team added Kyle Barraclough to the active and 40-man rosters. Lamet was later sent outright to Worcester.
• On August 25, the team claimed pitcher Zack Weiss off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels.
• On September 4, the team claimed pitcher Logan Gillaspie off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles.
• On September 24, the team designated Kyle Barraclough for assignment to make roster room for Zack Kelly being activated from the 60-day injured list. Barraclough was later sent outright to Worcester.

Amateur draft

Boston had the 14th overall selection in the 2023 MLB draft, held July 9–11. The draft consisted of a total of 614 selections over 20 rounds. The Red Sox had a total of 22 picks; one in each round, plus two compensatory picks made during the fourth round. The team's picks during the first five rounds were:

† Compensatory round selection

Awards and honors

Triston Casas was a finalist for a Silver Slugger Award. He was also named a finalist for the American League Rookie of the Year Award, which went to Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles.

Devers, Justin Turner, and pitcher Chris Martin were nominated for the All-MLB Team, with winners due to be announced on December 16.

Farm system

Luke Montz, who managed the Salem Red Sox during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, left the Red Sox organization in October 2022. The team announced US-based minor-league staff assignments on January 27.

Notes

References

Further reading

• Abraham, Peter (October 7, 2022). "Who's under contract? Who's a free agent? Let's run through the contract status of every player on the Red Sox roster". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
• McWilliams, Julian (March 30, 2023). "Meet the Red Sox Opening Day roster". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 30, 2023.

External links

• Official website
• 2023 Boston Red Sox season at Baseball Reference