Breaking down Boston's highs and lows of 2024

This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BOSTON -- The season started with the external belief it would be a bridge year in Boston, one in which young players would get a chance to grow, but the Red Sox wouldn’t be participants in the postseason for the third straight year.

While that proved true in the end, culminating in Wednesday’s elimination loss to the Blue Jays, manager Alex Cora’s club raised expectations with a roll from May 19-July 14 in which they went 31-19.

That surge pushed the club to two games ahead for the third American League Wild Card spot at the All-Star break.

When the Red Sox -- led by All-Star Game MVP Jarren Duran -- reported to Dodger Stadium to start the second half, there seemed to be a strong chance Cora’s club would be postseason-bound for the first time since 2021.

But then came the crash: a mini one from the starting rotation, a major one from the bullpen that lost two key arms (Chris Martin, Justin Slaten) for a while due to right elbow injuries, and then a surprising month-long thud from the offense that came at the most inopportune time.

In the coming days, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will lead his group in doing a full diagnostic of what added up to an 81-81 season and a third-place finish in the American League East.

Here is a look back at the highs and lows of the 2024 season.

Defining moment: The 7-6 loss to the Dodgers in 11 innings on July 20 was a true crusher. The Sox were up by a run with no outs in the ninth when closer Kenley Jansen served up a game-tying homer to former teammate Kiké Hernández. In the top to the 10th, Tyler O’Neill seemed like he took the sting out of that blown save when he belted his second two-run homer of the afternoon. The Red Sox were one strike away from victory in the bottom of the 10th, only for Greg Weissert to give up a game-tying single to Hernández. Will Smith walked it off with a single in the 11th. The Red Sox didn’t know it at the time, but they’d have many similar agonizing losses in their future.

What we learned: The kids can play. Rookies Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and David Hamilton all had the chance to play regularly, and each of them took steps forward, which allowed the team to stay in contention when Trevor Story and Triston Casas were on the injured list for several months at the same time.

Best development: Heading into the season, the club decided to give their mid-to-late 20s trio of Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello room to grow as mainstays in the rotation. Although Bello struggled with consistency early and Houck and Crawford both hit speed bumps around midseason, it was a strong development year for the trio. Each of them hit the 30-start plateau for the first time in their careers, while also achieving personal bests in innings.

Area for improvement: The Red Sox have to get better on defense. For the second straight year, inconsistency in the field -- particularly in the infield -- was a major issue. The one common thread is that Story missed the majority of games in both seasons. If he can stay on the field for all of 2025, that alone would stabilize things given his excellence at shortstop and his status as a widely respected veteran.

On the rise: Prospects. Yes, the Red Sox have big-time prospects. When the year started, it was about the big three of Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel, who are ranked 1-3 in that order by MLB Pipeline in the team’s Top 30. But now it’s the fab four, as Kristian Campbell took a huge leap from the team’s No. 30 prospect in Spring Training to No. 5 at midseason. Campbell earned a promotion to Triple-A Worcester in August, and has a big right-handed bat, which is significant for a club that is left-handed heavy at the Major League level. Campbell also has the versatility to play middle infield and outfield. Anthony is a left-handed hitter who is creating a lot of excitement, and could break camp with the Sox in 2025. Mayer, unfortunately, missed the last several weeks of the season for the second year in a row, this time with a lumbar strain.

Team MVP: Duran took his game up a couple of notches and was a stud in the leadoff spot until a late-season slump. The electrifying speedster became the first Major Leaguer to record at least 10 triples, 20 homers, 30 steals and 40 doubles in the same season.