Well, that's that -- on the road at least.
The Red Sox' final road contest of the season was a 6-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. All that remains now are three more at home against Tampa Bay,
Here are three thoughts:
1) Some positives emerge from bullpen auditions.
Let's face it -- there's been previous little positive news for the Red Sox over the final month. Brayan Bello and Triston Casas have had strong debuts. But a third encouraging development has been the work of some young relievers.
With both Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck sidelined after season-ending surgeries, and some ineffective outings from the starting rotation, there have been ample opportunities for some relievers up from Worcester to show what they can do.
Most -- not all, but most -- have been impressive.
On Sunday, we got to see three of them tag-team the Red Sox to the finish line after Michael Wacha was lifted after four innings. Eduard Bazardo supplied two innings of one-hit relief and has a 2.93 ERA over 11 appearances. He was followed to the mound by Kaleb Ort, who allowed a run in the seventh. Ort has a 6.35 ERA for the season, but that's somewhat inflated by one horrendous relief appearance back in July when he was shelled for eight runs in two-thirds of an inning against -- who else? -- Toronto.
Finally, Franklin German, who had a tough time of it in his first two outings, made some adjustments Sunday and contributed a scoreless eighth.
Exactly how these three -- along with Zack Kelly, who's probably pitched the best of any of the candidates -- fit in next year is unknown and will certainly be impacted by how the Sox choose to use Houck and Whitlock in 2023, in addition to whatever free agent or trade acquisitions are made over the winter.
It's dangerous to place too much emphasis on the performance of young players playing for a non-contender in September, when there's little pressure.
But the Sox can be pleased by what they've seen from most of these guys. It wouldn't be a surprise to have two or three on the roster next March as low- and mid-leverage bullpen options. And as added bonus, each of the relievers will earn a major league minimum or a fraction more, allowing the Sox to focus their resources elsewhere.
2) Lack of production from Kiké Hernandez troubling.
When the Red Sox announced a one-year contract extension for $10 million last month, I was among those who applauded the idea. Having Hernandez return gave the Sox some certainty in center field, and, given Hernandez's ability to play several infield spots, too, provided the Sox with some versatility going forward.
It was easy to dismiss Hernandez's struggles over the first half of the season as being the result of a hip injury as well as a core injury that sidelined him mid-season.
But since returning from the IL, Hernandez hasn't been any better offensively. In 39 games since returning, Hernandez, who was 1-for-4 Sunday, is slashing .242./.326/.338 for an OPS of .654. He has two homers and just seven doubles in that span.
He remains a well above-average defender in center, and as he demonstrated Saturday while filling in at short for Xander Bogaerts, an above-average infielder, too. The ability to play several middle-of-the-diamond positions and play them well shouldn't be discounted.
But for $10 million, shouldn't the Red Sox be expecting more production than they've gotten?
Perhaps Hernandez needs to fully heal and start fresh next spring, free of any physical limitations. But his meager output over the final two months has to be at least mildly concerning.
3. Hosmer returns Monday, but where does he fit going forward?
After missing almost six weeks with lower back inflammation, Eric Hosmer will be activated and will play some over the final series of the season, Alex Cora confirmed Sunday.
That's a positive, and no doubt will help Hosmer mentally as he heads into the offseason. It would be tough to be sidelined for the final six weeks and not play at all going into the winter.
But the bigger issue is how will he be used in 2023?
Hosmer has three more years remaining on his deal -- he can opt-out this winter, but given his salary and modest production, won't -- and the Red Sox are paying only the major league minimum on his remaining salary. So from a financial standpoint, it won't hurt to have him around.
But it's obvious that the Sox see Casas as the everyday first baseman. If there was one positive to come from Hosmer's injury, it was the opportunity to have Casas basically play every day for almost the last month. He showed power (five homers), good plate discipline (.371 OBP) and fielded his position smoothly.
Here's the issue: like Casas, Hosmer is a lefty-hitting first baseman who really can't play anywhere else on the field. And he hasn't hit enough to command the DH spot if the Sox move on from J.D. Martinez.
On the other hand, the Sox could be leaving themselves vulnerable if they don't have any insurance for Casas at first. They've seen strong Septembers from slugging first basemen before (hello, Bobby Dalbec) only to find that that level of performance doesn't translate into a full season.
So, what do they do with Hosmer? In all likelihood, they can go into spring training with him on the roster, hope that Casas has a good spring and if someone has a need for a very affordable veteran first baseman, can offer them Hosmer.