The fan outrage -- heartfelt, obvious and widespread -- has begun to die down for Red Sox fans. It's now been two full weeks since the Red Sox lost free agent shortstop Xander Bogaerts to the San Diego Padres, leaving the team with a gaping hole in the middle of the diamond -- in more ways than one.
Predictably, the reaction was overwhelming. Red Sox fans were understandably incensed that the team lost a second homegrown All-Star in the span of 34 months.
In the last few days, that anger has simmered somewhat, as fans come to terms with reality. In the grieving process, they may not have yet reached "acceptance,'' but they're getting there.
But resigning oneself to the fact that a quality player is gone and isn't coming back is only part of the equation. There's also the matter of who the team chooses to replace Bogaerts, and it's there where there's a whole other level of ugly only now showing itself.
When Bogaerts came off the board, that left only Dansby Swanson from among the remaining elite free agents at the position. Given that Swanson eventually received $10 million more than the Sox last offered Bogaerts, it was obvious that was never going to be a tenable solution.
With Swanson now gone, too, the slim pickings are only now becoming apparent. On the free agent front, the best option is 35-year-old Elvis Andrus, followed by Jose Iglesias. Both would qualify as older, limited, short-term options.
The trade market isn't any more encouraging. Milwaukee's Willy Adames would be a good fit, and serve as a bridge to Marcelo Mayer in 2025. But it's becoming increasingly apparent that the Brewers aren't interested in moving him -- at least not before the season starts.
Instead, the Red Sox are said to be considering two lesser choices, both with the Miami Marlins -- Miguel Rojas and Joey Wendle, the latter of whom was first reported as a trade target by The Athletic. Rojas is a superb defender, but very limited with the bat (career OPS: .672, with a .358 slugging percentage). As for Wendle, he's slightly more accomplished with the bat (career OPS+ of 101, suggesting he's almost exactly league average), but without a lot of history of playing short in the big leagues (89 games).
Said one veteran evaluator who has seen a lot of Wendle: "Ideally, he's a super utility guy on a good team.''
That's far from a ringing endorsement of his ability to handle the position on a daily basis. (Even if the Sox view Wendle as merely a piece of the shortstop puzzle, the truth is, they don't currently have the other piece on their roster).
The point is, no matter whom the Red Sox turn to outside the organization, the team is going to suffer a significant drop-off in production at the shortstop position. Bogaert was a Silver Slugger award-winner in each of the last three full seasons, including 2022.
And now the Red Sox are considering plugging in barely league-average hitters to take his place?
Even with Bogaerts, the Red Sox finished ninth in MLB in runs scored last year with 735 and ninth in OPS at .730. That means they barely qualified for the upper third in the game in perhaps the two most important offensive statistics.
Now, take Bogaerts away from that lineup and where do the Red Sox sit?
Let's presume that the signing of Masataka Yoshida was a positive move and his ability to get on base and offer competitive at-bats will represent an upgrade over the combination of Tommy Pham and Jackie Bradley Jr., who are not returning. But even still, there's a case to be made that the Sox are, for now, a worse offensive team than they were a season ago, thanks to the expected falloff from the shortstop position.
Defensively, Wendle would be an acceptable choice at short while Rojas profiles as well above-average. But neither is going to put up much in the way of offense at a position that is supposed to offer impact.
It's worth noting that of the four teams that had elite shortstops heading to free agency this winter -- the Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins -- none re-signed their own player, or one of the other three. In other words, all four teams are starting over at the position.
But the Braves, Twins and Dodgers all have alternatives on their rosters to whom they can turn without creating a vacancy at another position. The Red Sox don't: if they move either Trevor Story or KikΓ© Hernandez to short, they'll only have to fill holes at second or center field.
And the reality of the offseason is that there are few -- if any -- suitable targets remaining on either the free agent or trade market.