This weekend, the Red Sox will properly pay homage to the 2013 team that not only helped the region overcome the tragedy of the marathon bombings, but also went on to win a World Series.
That team, in addition to serving as a galvanizing group, came out of nowhere to win the World Series. The previous year, the Red Sox had finished last and expectations were, to be charitable, modest when the season began.
That roster had its share of veteran free agents on short-term deals. Remarkably, Ben Cherington hit on every one of his free agent gambles. Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, David Ross, Ryan Dempster and Mike Napoli all exceeded expectations and played significant roles -- on and off the field -- as the Red Sox overachieved and then beat the St. Louis Cardinals in October.
The duck boat parade that followed culminated in an emotional stop at the finish line on Boylston St, in remembrance of the victims who lost lives and limbs back in April.
In many ways, the 2013 team is the second-most beloved of the four Sox title teams because of the way the team served as a distraction to the Patriots Day attack, and for the sheer unpredictability of the championship.
Meanwhile, some have attempted to connect the roster from 2013 to this season, and it's not to see some resemblance. Now, as then, the team finished last the year before. And now, as then, the team was built with a lot of veteran free agents who were signed to short-term deals -- Justin Turner, Adam Duvall, Kenley Jansen and Corey Kluber are all veterans who signed one- or two-year deals with the Sox over the winter.
Could the same formula work again a decade later?
This early in the season, it's too soon to tell, though early returns suggest that would be a distinct longshot.
But a closer look reveals a key distinction between 2013 and 2023.
In 2013, the Red Sox had a solid nucleus that acted as the foundation of the club. David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jon Lester were all essentially in their prime. (Ortiz was actually already 37, but he would play three more years at a high level. Chronologically, he wasn't in his prime, but Ortiz was so ageless, his birthdate hardly seemed relevant).
This year's version of the Red Sox, however, boasts only one such player: Rafael Devers. Devers is, at 26, just now entering his prime and his torrid start suggests that, even as the ink on a 10-year contract is barely dry, the best is yet to come. Devers is an elite player, a true star.
But the rest of the roster hardly matches up with the 2013 group.
Who's the equivalent of Lester on this staff? A healthier Chris Sale might have qualified, but Sale's inactivity for most of the last three seasons casts him as a question mark, one who, to date, has not shown good command or elite stuff. And who would be this year's Pedroia? One doesn't exist.
That's largely because ownership and current front office have overseen a talent drain in the last four years. If this Red Sox roster still boasted both Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts, the comparisons would be more apt, and chances are, the team would be performing far better. But not only are Betts and Bogaerts both gone, but the Red Sox have not developed suitable replacements. In time, perhaps Triston Casas and Brayan Bello may be stars. But not yet.
For reasons not fully explained, the Red Sox have allowed a diminution of the core talent on the roster, and critically, do not yet have suitable homegrown replacements ready. In stark contrast, the Red Sox of 2013 not only had a more talented core, they had Bogaerts and Jacklie Bradley Jr. on the way and Betts on the near horizon.
In the meantime, the 2013 team deserves special recognition for what it accomplished, especially against the backdrop of its time. But it also serves as a painful reminder, as if one were necessary, about how far the franchise has fallen and how much it's failed to assemble a roster that, even before the spare parts were added, had plenty of star power.
That quality is sorely lacking in this year's group, and there's only so much the veteran short-term free agents can add.
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Might the Red Sox regret giving up Franchy Cordero? The first two weeks of the season suggest that's a possibility.
Cordero, who appeared in 132 games for the Sox over the previous two years and slashed .209/.279/.350 with nine homers and 38 RBI, was designated for assignment over the winter by the Sox and signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles. At the end of spring training, Cordero exercised an opt-out and found the Yankees interested.
So far, Cordero has hit four homers and slugged .656 in nine games with the Yankees.
According to a Yankee executive, Cordero was the proverbial right man at the right time.
"Obviously, we're pleasantly surprised,'' said the source. "I'm sure our evaluators probably saw the same thing the Red Sox saw when they acquired him -- huge power potential. Swing-and-miss has always been in his game. He was on a short list of players who would potentially become available and the biggest thing that fell into our lap is that we were already going into spring training without (an established) left fielder. The bottom line is we had an opportunity for him. There's probably someone in the organization who would pound their chest and say, 'I knew this was going to be the case.'
"But the majority of us would say, because of where our roster was, he was available and it was kind of like, 'round peg, round hole.'' When it was all said and done, I think it was a unanimous vote for, 'If he becomes available, go ahead and give him a shot.' ''
Cordero's lefty pull power is suited to Yankee Stadium, but as even Red Sox fans know, when Cordero connects, few ballparks can hold him. The secret is for him to connect more often, so that he can get to that power.
It helps that Cordero now has growing confidence from his strong start, which could give him momentum.
"He starts off hot, has a little success, and gains some confidence,'' said the executive. "And quite honestly, it goes both ways, in the dugout and with the manager, who pushes him a little higher up in the trust tree. I look at some of his experiences in the past, and I think, rightfully so, he didn't get the opportunities because he did struggle. There was a lot of swing-and-miss, there wasn't a whole lot of production at times.''
There have been hot spurts by Cordero in the past. The real test will be for him to maintain this pace -- or something close to it -- for an extended period of time.
"A lot of the evaluators have seen the power,'' said the executive. "Just like these pitchers with great arms who don't know how to throw strikes, they're going to get their second, third or fourth chances because if it clicks, it's unhittable stuff. The same thing is true with the guys who have the big power.''
In the meantime, Red Sox fans cross their fingers and hope that this won't be the Yanks' revenge for Garrett Whitlock in the Rule 5 draft.
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MINOR ISSUES: Outfielder Freddy Valdez, one of the three low-level prospects acquired in the deal that sent Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City as part of a three-team deal, is in the process of transitioning to become a pitcher.
Valdez, 21, had stalled as a position player and was in danger of being released by the organization when the Red Sox approached him about giving pitching a try. After some discussion, he was eager to try the experiment.
"The reality is, there are different points in a player's careers when they have to make tough decisions,'' said Brian Abraham, the team's director of player development. "With someone like Freddy, we were pretty honest with him. (We told him) 'we're not going to have a spot for you as a position player.' He could be off-roster and keep his fingers crossed that he could get playing time, or be at a point where he's looking for a job elsewhere. Or, have a spot, be able to stay in Fort Myers and work with a group focused on him, and try to make the transition that potentially has some higher upside. It's certainly not simple, but at the end of the day, we try to put the player in the best position to have success in the upper levels. We felt like this was a chance for him to try something different.
"It's early yet, but so far, so good. It's been very introductory so far. Right now, it's really about getting an understanding of how his body moves as a pitcher, getting him into a throwing program...some fundamental things. It's a bit of a wild card, obviously. The hope is that the athleticism and arm strength will translate. We've had some success with guys who have done this in the past (including Michael Gettys). Sometimes (it works) and sometimes it doesn't.''
Valdez told the Red Sox that he did some pitching growing up in the Dominican Republic, which, as Abraham noted, made it "a little easier'' to broad the topic with him in the first place.
For now, Valdez is throwing off a mound as the Red Sox, in the words of Abraham, try to "expedite'' the process and see what they have.
"He hasn't pitched in a game yet,'' said Abraham. "But I think that's in the near future (in an extended spring training game). Like any of other guys, no promises, no guarantees. If it works out well, we're excited for him; if it doesn't, maybe it's an opportunity for him to hook on elsewhere. But allowing him the chance to develop in a different role, we wanted to give him an opportunity because of the relationship we've built with him and the work he's put in. There's a little bit of uncertainty, but I think we're at least progressing at the right rate.''
Meanwhile, at Worcester, infielder David Hamilton is off to a terrific start, slashing .385/.415/.718 with three homers in his first 10 games.
Hamilton's most obvious tool has always been his speed, which is rated as plus-plus, enough for him steal 70 bases at Double-A Portland last year. But the rest of his offensive profile was less certain, as his .251 batting average and 119 strikeouts in 119 games suggested.
Over the winter, the Red Sox had Hamilton work on his swing path so that he wasn't lofting balls and instead, with a more level swing, had him hitting line drives -- the better to take advantage of his speed.
"His bat speed was something that needed to be improved upon,'' said Abraham. "He worked really hard with some of the new drills and new techniques. We've already seen an increase in bat speed and how hard he hits the ball. And the results, too. Sometimes, guys make improvements in the offseason, or make improvements in spring training and the results aren't there so it's harder to explain, 'What you're doing is working.' But the proof is in the pudding here and he's already hit some of the hardest balls of his career this year.''
Hamilton was aware that some changes were needed last season, but as Abraham noted, those can be difficult to implement mid-season. With the winter to make adjustments, he's now realizing the payoff.
And the payoff for the Red Sox could come in the big leagues, where Hamilton's speed should play up even more given the new rules -- bigger bases, pickoff limits -- reward base-stealing more.
"He has the tools that you can't teach,'' said Abraham. "You can only do so much with guys on the basepaths, you can only do so much with guys defensively. But his athleticism and speed is something that's really hard to find and obviously, they're the reason he's on the roster and why we value him like we do. For him to be able to hit the ball more consistently and hit the ball harder, to have that piece of what he already does incredibly well, makes him more interesting than the player we had when we added him to the 40-man.''
Hamilton is playing mostly shortstop at Worcester, but there are also plans to get him some playing time in center, too. It's hardly inconceivable that Hamilton could get the call to Boston in the next few months.