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Could this be the year the Boston Red Sox put it all together and win the American League? If you ask “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” hosts Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman, you’ll get a resounding “maybe” — with a dose of pitching anxiety thrown in for good measure.
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Both Mintz and Shusterman, typically measured about Boston’s ups and downs, shared a surprising amount of optimism about the Sox on the latest episode, in which they attempted to determine the best team in the American League after one month of play in the 2025 MLB season.
Mintz led the charge, pointing to a reliable Rafael Devers (“he will not be average all year”), a meaningful breakout from Wilyer Abreu, a healthy Trevor Story, an outstanding debut from Kristian Campbell and a perfect fit with Alex Bregman as foundational strengths.
“The only thing about this team that I feel worse about today than I did when the season began — and I was super high on them — is Triston Casas. That’s it. Everything else, I feel the same or better about,” Mintz said.
It’s the pitching staff, though, where belief turns to nervous energy. The breakout of Garrett Crochet has Red Sox fans dreaming of a Cy Young campaign — “unbelievable so far,” Mintz said — but the rest of the staff is a patchwork of “quantity over quality.”
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Still, the hope is that, with strong leadership from pitching coach Andrew Bailey and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and a pile of intriguing arms behind Crochet — including Walker Buehler, Tanner Houck, Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Sean Newcomb — Boston can scrape together enough innings to stay in the race.
Shusterman brought a dose of realism, noting, “I don’t know what I’m getting from basically any other starter besides Crochet, and that alone has me spooked.” Also, Crochet’s durability over the long term will be a concern. “I hope Crochet is this awesome for 200 innings,” he said, “but it is still a lot to ask from him.”
Who would start Game 2 of a postseason series for Boston? At this point, the hosts have no idea. At the same time, as Shusterman said, “I think the ceiling here is absolutely the highest in the league.”
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The upside? The Red Sox might be the AL’s best team — if things break their way going forward. The risk? A thin rotation could see them tumbling to the pack by July, especially with Baltimore, New York and Toronto lurking.
One way or another, the Red Sox will be a fascinating team to keep an eye on.
For more on the Red Sox and other baseball debates, tune in to “Baseball-Bar-B-Cast” on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.
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