Back in August, Red Sox outfielder Rob Refsnyder seemed uncertain about whether he wanted to continue his playing career in 2025 or begin working towards his post-playing goal of moving into a front office role somewhere in the sport. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported this evening, however, that Refsnyder now appears to have made up his mind to continue playing in 2025.
“I’ll be 34 in spring training. I could see myself playing for a couple more years honestly, if the situation is right,” Refsnyder said, as relayed by Cotillo. “Especially if I’m here.”
Refsnyder has made his desire to remain in Boston abundantly clear, and it seems all but certain his wish will be granted at least for next season. The Red Sox hold a $2MM club option of the 33-year-old for next year, a bargain price considering his excellent production with the club this season. In 307 trips to the plate across 93 games played this year, Refsnyder has slashed an excellent .283/.359/.471 (130 wRC+) in his part time role as a backup outfielder and platoon bat against left-handed pitching. Overall, Refsnyder has posted a solid .278/.367/.427 slash line (121 wRC+) with 18 homers and 10 steals in 727 plate appearances since he first donned a Red Sox uniform back in 2022.
Refsnyder’s likely return will place him in the midst of what is sure to be a very crowded outfield mix next season. While Tyler O’Neill figures to become a free agent this winter, Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu both appear poised to return to the club. Meanwhile, Ceddanne Rafaela has split time between the outfield and infield this year but is best suited to playing center field, where he excels defensively. That leaves the club with a full outfield before even considering the fact that top prospect Roman Anthony is banging on the door to the majors and figures to be ready for big league action as soon as early 2025, and it’s even possible that the club could look to re-sign O’Neill or a similarly capable right-handed slugger this winter. The DH offers little help in breaking up the logjam in Boston either due to the presence of Masataka Yoshida, who remains under contract through the end of the 2027 season.
Given the glut of outfield talent available to the Red Sox for the moment, it would hardly be a shock to see the club pursue a trade this winter, perhaps leveraging that outfield depth in order to bolster the club’s pitching staff. The rotation in Boston has been quite good with a 3.77 ERA that ranks top five in the majors this year, but a bullpen that posted a lackluster 4.44 ERA this year and figures to lose both Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin in free agency is an obvious place for potential improvement. With that being said, it’s also possible the bullpen could get some internal reinforcements headed into next year.
Right-hander Garrett Whitlock underwent an internal brace surgery on his right elbow back in May and has been working his way back to the mound ever since, with Cotillo among those to note that he threw a baseball for the first time since going under the knife recently. As Whitlock works his way back in hopes of a healthier 2025 season, Cotillo notes that after years of both the righty and the Red Sox believing he was a long-term rotation piece for the club, Whitlock is now more focused on staying healthy.
“Honestly, I’ve told them, whatever can keep me healthy (is the best role),” Whitlock said yesterday, as relayed by Cotillo. “That’s where I’m at. We’re going to dive in with medical and see where that goes.”
If Boston brass and Whitlock believe that a move to the bullpen could help keep the righty healthier going forward, that would add a potential high-leverage arm to the club’s mix that could help them to make up for the impending losses of Jansen and Martin. The right-hander sports a strong 3.39 ERA overall for his career, but that figure plummets to a sparkling 2.65 when looking only at his 132 2/3 innings of work out of the bullpen. Combined with his 28.1% career strikeout rate out of the bullpen, it’s easy to imagine Whitlock becoming one of the game’s most fearsome relievers if he fully committed to the role.
A move to the bullpen for Whitlock would leave the club with a hole in the rotation, however, and that would only be further exacerbated by the impending departure of veteran righty Nick Pivetta. It’s been a solid year for the 31-year-old hurler, as he’s posted a 4.14 ERA with a 4.06 FIP in 145 2/3 innings of work that should make him an attractive option for clubs in need of help towards the back of their rotation this winter. That’s a description that fits the Red Sox, who currently have only Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, and Brayan Bello penciled into their rotation. Lucas Giolito figures to return from elbow surgery at some point next year, and the club has solid depth options like Quinn Priester, Richard Fitts, and Cooper Criswell available as well, but there’s plenty of room in the club’s starting mix another addition.
Even so, it’s unclear if a return to Boston is in the cards for Pivetta next year. The right-hander told Alex Speier of the Boston Globe recently that there have been no talks between he and the front office about extending their relationship beyond this season, though he did express an openness to returning to Boston next year. With that being said, after a disappointing season that’s seen the club finish in the vicinity of .500, it’s possible that the club could look to improve its rotation by signing a more impactful free agent than Pivetta. Former Red Sox hurler Nathan Eovaldi and left-hander Sean Manaea are among the mid-rotation arms that figure to be available this winter who would likely represent an upgrade over Pivetta for Boston.
What are the odds they try forcing Whitlock into the rotation for a fourth consecutive year, despite the fact he’s still never gone six innings without falling apart in his next start?
Whitlock needs to go back to the bullpen where he would probably be an elite Closer if they left him alone
Of course Whitlock needs to return to the pen. I may have been wrong as I also wanted Houck in the pen. I say may because the stats on the staff is so misleading. The pen got worn out again because the starters are typically pulled too early be it them or Cora. Unless they change and develop pitchers who can deliver by pacing themselves (and by Henry loosening his wallet), this team will
still be a .500 club.
Dewey- ur not the only 1 was calling for putting Houck into the pen up until as late as last season, i was also and it wasn’t really difficult to see why not just we were seeing it.. 22-3 times thru the lineup and houck was getting lit up, the splitter just wasn’t working for him like it has been for a year plus. Bailey has made this possible.
Hopefully he continues to develop but if need be, I still think Houck can be a stud closure. I just want teams to be forced to carry 11 pitchers max so they will have to change. I also want MLB to disclose any changes to the baseball and advise if they’ve done studies on ash v. maple bats. Too many moon shot HRs in my view.
because the starters are typically pulled too early
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Part of that is never having an established #5. Houck, Crawford, Bello & Pivetta averaged 5.58 IP/GS against a league average of 5.22.
Past that, Henry’s purse will determine 2025. We need an ace, and maybe another strong #2. We should have about $70M to spend. even if we add Martin.
A lot of the starters had career innings highs. Workload was an issue. It’s also the prevailing strategy to pull after twice through the rotation.
I think they should take the Seth Lugo approach with him and let him play out next year in relief.
This team never learns. I’m almost certain they try to put him in the rotation again
For now at least, Whitlock needs to be in the pen. The first year back after TJ is a tough one anyways. Give him a managed workload, two innings every 3-5 days, and hope for a healthy and effective 90 innings of work. That would easily beat what he gave them this year.
While he is certainly a closer-quality arm, I would stay away from the back-to-back-to-back kind of schedule that closers often keep. Might as well use Hendriks in that role, if healthy, with Slaten and Whitlock working on a managed schedule for maximum healthy innings.
I agree I think that they got Hendricks for a reason, if he is healthy, he will be the closer, Whitlock would make a great set up, man, possibly an opener on a bullpen day
Refs hall of fame potential has finally been realized. He gets rave reviews.
Tex – I think the retirement talk was a bluff, he was hoping to get them to renegotiate the contract. Why else would he backtrack on it now?
Refsynder probably thinks $2M is more than the front office job will offer. Makes sense to pocket another season’s salary before making the leap.
The Grind will have you thinking retirement, especially at 34 with the aches and pains, yet at the end of the year it doesn’t seem so bad and you’re absolutely ready to go again considering the money won’t be available in any other career choice.
@Fever I agree. He is finally having a little success and wanting to score a bigger payday.
I doubt it was a bluff, he was just feeling the grind.
If he wants to extend that to a second year, I’m sure the team would be happy to listen.
Fitts, Priester and Criswell sound like a terrible patch job. At best they fight for SP5. Front Office needs to pull on their big boy pants and sign a couple dudes.
I expect one starter to be signed, but don’t expect a big name. Roki Sasaki would be the best option but beyond that i would expect a buy low bounce back candidate, though this staff needs a lefty
James Paxton, part III
Budget $50M for Roki and Snell. If we got those two, we wouldn’t need much else.
No thanks on Snell. Roki isn’t coming here, why would he? He’s probably going to end up in LA
Pass on Snell
Why would he come to Boston? he’ll go to the highest bidder and if it’s the sox (big if) he’ll be in Boston.
If he comes this year that’s not how it’ll work, it’ll be like with Ohtani and he’ll make minimal money. Next year is when he’ll be up for the Yamamoto level contract
so what are you getting at then when you say he’s going to the dodgers? I was speaking more of when Roki would be available for said massive contract.
He still has say in where he goes. They have need, they have money, and they have his countrymen on the team. He’s going to be a Dodger when he comes stateside
again you don’t know that it’s a forgone conclusion he will sign in LA. It will come down to money and who’s willing to pay the most. If it’s the dodgers so be it but having fellow Japanese players isn’t as important as the cash.
More like 6 or 7, if they had it
Pretty sure the roster isn’t set yet for next year man.
They already have Houck, Bello, Giolito, and Crawford. I would expect them to add one more SP, going into the season with Priester and Fitts as minor league depth, and Criswell (out of options) in a long relief role in the pen. While the kids might be fine as #5 starters, you need at least seven arms to get through a season – and that means five veterans in addition to the guys with options who can be stashed in the minors.
Here’s my take:
1) Red Sox need more SP and less Left-Handed bats.
2) Avoid Big Ticket FAs (Soto, Burns, Bregman, etc)
3) Devers moves to DH for health and defensive improvement.
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1) Trade Casas for Gilbert or Kirby (add in prospect if necessary).
2) Sign one of the LH FA pitchers (Boyd, Heaney, Kikuchi or Manaea).
3) Trade Yoshida and eat some salary to open up DH spot.
4) Sign one of the RH hitting 1Bs (Walker, Goldschmidt or Santander).
5) Story at SS, and let the kids battle it out for the rest of the infield positions (Gonzalez, Grissom, Hamilton, Sogard, Medrioth and Mayer)
That is a good analysis. For 3 years I have thought that a healthy Story was the key. A good lefty starter is number 1 on my list. I agree completely that a trade with Seattle seems like a natural and should be beneficial to both teams. Yoshida, while not actually that bad, has very little value because the money is too much. Rafaela is a big question mark. He looks too much like Myles Straw. Duran is more than capable of playing CF with Anthony and an Abreu/Refsnyder platoon on the corners works for me. A lot falls on Hendrix and the rest of the bullpen, any bullpen in the game, is a guessing game. One year great, next year awful. The young prospects are intriguing and 2025 should be fun.
Ty, We’re on the same page. Lineup may be a little weak at the beginning. But hopefully. by June a couple of the Fab 4 will be contributing at the ML level.
hard pass on shipping Casas out at least at this point. Makes much more sense for the sox to move someone in the outfield. Those first base options outside of santander don’t inspire much confidence especially Goldschmidt.
Who do you move from OF?
-Abreu is a righty. It would make the team even more left-handed.
– Raphaela does not have enough value to bring back a front line pitcher.
– I prefer Duran and Anthony over Casas.
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Its a tough call, I like Casas too. But, you have to give up value to get back value. Also, he’s easier to replace when you look at the free agent 1Bs available. Im not sure what you dont like about Walker. Right-handed, Gold Glove Firstbaseman with power to left. Hes exactly what the Red Sox need.
His age and the most likely price tag are what I don’t like about Walker. I prefer Casas and Anthony over Duran which is why I’d be more inclined to move him.
Abreu is not a righty. So there’s that.
Casas or Duran are basically the two options to bring back a Gilbert type of pitcher. They are two totally different players, I just feel in this years FA, Casas’s HRs are easier replaced, than Durans speed, obp.
I like Walker, 3 yrs 75-80M is whate Ive heard for him. I think thats doable.
Yeah, last I checked Abreu was a lefty.
Last time I checked that was already pointed out. Thanx for your concern.
the flip side of that argument is that the sox have internal options that fill in the speed role. I agree that Casas and Duran are the most likely to return a gilbert thought.
Not concerned, just laughing at you.
Problem is Seattle won’t trade for a corner OF (definitely not a CF with Julio already there) and Casas as a 1B isn’t a great use of value over an upper end SP.
Cooperstown enshrinement delayed until 2031.
YBC- Finding gems via the rule5 draft is 1 thing, it’s expecting way to much that is the issue and some parts of this (and other teams) fan base go hog wild, put to much into what some media just write, who themselves know -0- about what they are writing about and expect a miracle.
Journalism is like that in general, more than just sports with regards to just writing as if they know what the heck they are writing about (some places/sites) and putting it out as if it’s the gospel truth, then a gullible fan base, some eat it up without taking into consideration whether or not it’s a pile of smoking… Well…
Whitlock, like just taken rule5 Justin Slaten was and is a superb reliever.. Will end with that..
Last month, Refsnyder indicated retirement as he wanted to spend time with his family. Now he wants to play a couple more years, if not more. Must have had a rough home life the last few weeks!
As I wrote last month, he doesn’t want to retire, he wants to monetize his solid year and is trying to get the Red Sox attention by threatening to retire in the hopes they add another year or two on to his current deal. He’s a career journeyman who hasn’t made that much and only has six years of service time. He doesn’t necessarily want to spend more time with his family. He instead wants to financially secure the future for his family. We can get immune to the big numbers tossed about for pro players, but guaranteeing another $2-4MM is huge to a player like Refsnyder. Right now, his career earnings don’t suggest retirement, they suggest a future as a career coach.
Refsnyder has been in the MLB since 2015 and has earned $5,000,000. The salary he agreed to for 2025 is roughy 40% of his earnings for his entire career thus far. 1) he was never going to walk away from it, regardless of what he said prior, 2) Refsnyder has no bargaining power to demand more money. These are the same things I stated when he told the media he might retire. Sometimes talk is just talk.
To be honest I think the Red Sox will have to be content with anyone willing to put on the uniform. This organization isn’t attracting premium free agent talent any longer.
It’s more like the Red Sox have been leaning away from from long, expensive deals for older players that often go bad.
Yeah, it’s the uniform, not that they’re being outbid.
This post is 100% one of those where takes something read from some article, where “facts” were pulled out of the writers posterior..
Ok.. It’s the uni.. By that, u mean Betts wanted to leave? ok, that’s 1, give u that. ALL boras guys want to walk, so lets forget those chumps, tho Bogaerts did sign 1 deal before he opted out of it and was massively overpaid by the padres. We can got with Sox lifers, like Pedroia, mostly sox lifer Ortiz. jon lester probably would have, but yeah.. henry got scared. he wanted to stay.
Boggs did leave, he wanted a WS title. NYY was buying them still in the 80’s. clemens was slowing down some, this was before he hit the needle. So yeah.. Those 2 left.. Dwight evans spent 18 of his 19 seasons in boston, Yaz a 23y sox lifer.
ur post is just a pile of dog crap dude.
Yup, I’m sure that the RS easily topped the LAD Ohtani offer of $700,000,000, but Ohtani didn’t care for the color of the uniform.
Refsnyder will go into the Hall of Subs alongside Bob Montgomery.
Monte was so under appreciated in the booth. Remy of course was simply the best but Monte was very good in his own right.
HAHAHA. “The Hammer” bob Montgomery, last person grandfathered in who didn’t have to wear a helmet batting, or catching.. And never once did, even vs Ryan.
I’ve got some Monty stories from ST during the 70’s.. 1 day might post a cpl here..
Very cool. All I really remember about Montgomery was that pretty much every time I went to a Red Sox game with my dad, as a little kid he was catching instead of Fisk, I went to 5 or so games and never saw Fisk once.
The rotation: The only starter with a winning record is Bello who has the highest ERA among the top 5. Those top 5 started 137 games which is usually a really good sign. Some of the other starts are Fitts and Whitlock, both put up nice numbers in their short time in the rotation. Priester is an interesting piece going forward. He should likely be a starter. Gioloto doesn’t impact until into the year so not part of the beginning of the season. I am only interested in a free agent starter if he is nearly 100% reliable to take the ball 30 times and deliver consistent quality. No filler.
The bullpen: Martin and Jansen were the only relievers with over 10 strikeouts per 9 innings. Slaten shows promise there. Kelly, too, but he gives up too many walks and then too many homers. That’s also Crawford’s undoing. Nibble, nibble, down the middle is NOT the good approach. There are quality arms for the bullpen, Whitlock, Weissert, Winck (who needs some tweaking), A bunch of other maybes: Bernardino, Booser, Guerrero, Shugart, Penrod. You need a max of 60 innings for the one inning guys and about 80 for the two inning guys. That means a lot of arms over the course of the season.
I’ve said this over and over. Who you use when you lose is VITAL. A world champion will lose 60 to 65 games, typically. Don’t waste your valuable, reliable guys in those games. Let them go, it’s OK for some young developing guy or a mediocre veteran to soak up those innings.
I would love to keep Martin and Jansen if the cost is reasonable, for one more year. But not at the expense of other options. Those are my opinions for now, Happy Sunday, go for a run.
Guerrero has looked good this month. Throws hard and throws strikes!!!
But the elite bullpen arms would be Hendriks, Slaten, and Whitlock. They could definitely use another. And I see no reason why they can’t afford a top relief arm (as well as a fifth veteran SP).
Dang, I forgot about Hendriks. Purple Haze.
Yeah, it’s a big if but IF Hendricks and Gilolito are healthy that’s gonna help a lot.
He loses that control. Why his path to the bigs hasn’t been quick. When he’s throwing strikes? Is deadly, but it comes and goes. Think RH verson of Booser and not meant as an insult, I like Booser also.
Consistency sometimes comes with maturity. Is the hope at least!
I agree. Consistency does come with maturity and Bello is still young.
Hope I’m not speaking too soon, but it looked like Bello started clicking after that skipped start. Rethought his pitch mix and started throwing more quality strikes.
I picked up on that as well. He was a much better pitcher after that.
He took the ball every 5 days and had a 1.36 WHIP. Right now he’s a decent 3. Too soon to judge. I think he’s going to have a nice career.
Well …. Last time I can play this card… a must win today for 3rd!!!
Olm – A must win today for Joe!!
Duran’s value cannot get any higher. Move him for a quality starting pitcher.
Mike – I don’t want Duran to go, but I agree this was probably his Ellsbury 2011 season.
That’s a rather pessimistic point of view. Ellsbury’s 2011 was his fifth season in the majors, and he was nothing till that year. It seemingly came out of nowhere. Duran has had 4 years in the majors and each year he’s got more playing time then the last, and each year he’s gotten better. There is a clear and steady progression with him. He’s not a flash in the pan. He looks legit.
It would be foolish of Boston to trade him for pitching when you can just sign a few guys for the rotation instead.
If you trade Duran, who replaces him? Rafaela and his inept bat. The rosiest scouting picture of Rafaela has him as a gold glover with an ok bat… and that’s the rosiest picture. The most likely outcome for him is either a 4th outfielder, or a really weak value glove only starter.
Duran is putting up 8.6 bWAR this season. Even if he settles into more 5-7 WAR range, do you think Rafaela will ever have a 5 WAR season, let alone a 7 or 8?
Boston already traded away Mookie Betts. Should they now trade away someone who could be Mookie-light As well? Better off to keep the stars you develop and build around them.
Canuck – Let me first reiterate I really, really like Duran. I have been one of his biggest supporters since Day One and I’m one of the few who stuck by him even when most Sox fans wanted him gone because of the vax controversy and Tapia inside the park grand slam and tennis racket controversy. I’ve gone on record as saying I want him with the Red Sox for at least the next four years, and my stance hasn’t changed.
My Ellsbury reference was simply saying this year will probably be Duran’s best. I am not saying I expect his numbers to immediately go way down as they did after Ellsbury’s best year, I think and hope Duran can continue to be at least an .825 OPS guy with strong defense.
But keep in mind, the injuries that plagued Ellsbury after his best season are also in play with Duran. Because they have a similar style of play, injuries are more likely. Duran already has missed significant playing time last year, with his season ending August 20 because of injury. And I’m not even factoring in Duran’s mental health issues.
Let’s look at the similarities of the players you mentioned.
Ellsbury’s best season was Age 27
Duran’s best season thus far is Age 27
Ellsbury’s best season was his 4th (min 100 PA’s)
Duran’s best season thus far is his 4th (min 100 PA’s)
In terms of offense, is Duran on an upward trajectory? Well his batting average is lower than last year, his OBP is lower than last year, and his OPS is only 8 points higher than last year ….. that’s more of a plateau than an upward trajectory.
Bottom line, data and past history indicates there’s a decent *possibility* this could be Duran’s best year primarily because of age and injury risk … but I still think and hope he will continue to be a very good player for at least 4 more years.
all of the complaints sox fans had about Duran from his bonehead stance on vaccines to the Tapia HR to his suspension for throwing a slur out were justified. It’s nice that he had a great season but Duran earned that criticism and it was fair. .
So one should just cater to the masses then, like some lying politicians do? if don’t agree with what the locals feel, keep quiet? Oh yeah…
Many NE residents should do a quick study on NE history from just a quarter of a century past. Then try and forgive themselves for about 2y.
Fever- Think duran, this year is leaps and bounds better with the glove than Ells ever was. ells used his speed to make up for slow initial reactions to balls, duran has learned to get going almost at the crack of the bat on balls. he’s not Raffy, nor JBJ, but he’s a far site better (in 24) than Ells ever was in CF.
john – I totally agree! Hard to quantify either way with the unreliability of defensive stats, and Duran playing so much left field doesn’t help his cause, but he’s certainly earned a GG this year.
The biggest improvements for Duran this season were his defense and his health, and I see no reason to doubt either going forward.
His triple slash line is very similar to 2023. A small shift from BA to power, but nothing extraordinary.
It’s not even a true increase in power for Duran this year as it is a more aggressive approach on the bases pushing long singles into doubles and long doubles into triples. That’s where the boost to his SLG has come this year. And as tough as it would be to lose his bat at the top of the lineup the need of a front line starter coupled with the left handed tilt of the current lineup and the players knocking on the door from Worcester makes considering a trade of Duran something the team has to consider.
I’d like to see them contact Seattle and see if either Kirby or Gilbert could be shaken loose with a package built around Duran.
Small improvement in EV and barrel rates, nothing extreme but just part of his maturing as a hitter. His batted balls tilted towards ground balls this year, which is generally positive given his speed. But all of those are small changes.
I’ll be honest in saying I didn’t see the defensive improvement coming. That said Duran is probably at his peak value, is going into his age 28 season and much of his game is predicated on speed which historically declines with age. . If that aforementioned top pitcher becomes available I wouldn’t hesitate to move him especially considering the depth the sox have in the OF
Ken – I’d definitely go for Woo instead of Kirby or Gilbert, whose Park Factor aided Home/Road splits are atrocious.
But again, I would not want to trade Duran.
tff – So you agree his small shift from BA to power is due to him legging out extra bases on what would have been singles and doubles. …. which again leads back to why some are concerned that if Duran loses his phenomenal legs to injury or age he will lose a good part of his game. It’s unfortunate he was somewhat of a late bloomer, no pun intended as he was a Dombrowsker.
No, I believe the power likely has more to do with higher exit velocities and more barrels… You realize that he was fast in 2023 too?
His bat is pretty strong, his game isn’t all leg.
That said, there aren’t many position players of any type who are good beyond the age of 31.
There were 64 players with a (Fangraphs) WAR of 3+ this year.
Just 9 older than 31.
tff – Yeah the general consensus is Age 27 tends to be one’s physical peak, when athletes tend to perform their best.
tff – If there was a reliable stat that distinguished taking extra bases strictly with speed, hustle and intelligence then I’d be all for it.
Since you made me look it up ….. Hard Hit went from 46.3% last year down to 44.0% this year ….. so he didn’t hit the ball harder, he was just a lot more aggressive.
HardHit% is only one number. Average exit velocity and max exit velocity both increased a tick, and the barrel rate spiked. His xwOBA also improved, estimated production based on the velocity and launch angle of each batted ball.
However you want to measure it, he is a top 50 hitter. Having a top 50 hitter who also plays great defense at a key defensive position AND adds value on the bases is huge. He has enough tools that I don’t see this as a one-and-done, unlike Ellsbury who was more of a one-dimensional player.
Players may peak at 27, but they tend to play at or near their peak between the ages of 25 and 30. After the age of 30, most players see sharp declines – with relatively few making it to the age of 32 while still performing at a high level.