#James Paxton

I can't decide what's more bewildering: That the Red Sox really feel like they did something on Wednesday morning, or that so many of the rest of us don't. The clearest emotion to find is joy for Rafael Devers, his evolution from a 16-year-old Dominican free agent to the unquestioned face of the franchise complete in a shade less than a decade.…

Believe it or not, Red Sox spring training opens in just about five weeks. The roster is not complete quite yet, but the large majority of the 2023 team has already been put together, and it looks quite different than the group that last took the field at Fenway Park in early October. Boston's chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom entered the winter…

The Boston Red Sox signed another older, arm-weary pitcher, Corey Kluber to a two-year deal for maybe as much as $27M to join their starting rotation. Kluber, 37 in April, was once one of the best pitchers alive, winning Cy Young awards in both 2014 and 2017. Those were part of a six-year run of excellence with Cleveland from 2013 to 2018, with…

The New York Yankees are welcoming Carlos Rodon to the Bronx. On Thursday, the Yankees reportedly signed the left-handed starter to a six-year, $162 million contract. BUY YANKEES TICKETS: STUBHUB, VIVID SEATS, TICKETSMARTER, TICKETMASTER Here's YES Network and ESPN analyst David Cone on what's so exciting about Rodon for Yankees fans, via YES…

Just being able to write about the Detroit Tigers and any sort of realistic shot at making the playoffs is so refreshing, when such thoughts have been non existent for the past five years, basically since former owner Mike Ilitch passed away. But here we are, with the much heralded prospects arriving in the major leagues and the team actually…

Major League Baseball's August 2 trade deadline is still a long way off. But the past two months of action have set the table enough for us to throw down some bold predictions regarding what type of chaos awaits in two months. Just so we're clear from the outset: We're aiming for bold but realistic predictions. I'm not here to make up some…

Now that baseball is officially back, it's time to chuck out our old full-season projections and, instead, focus on which teams can get off to a hot start, break ahead of the pack early, and hold on for dear life. Bettors must adapt to the new 60-game season as well. After breaking down several notable longshots at 20/1 or higher as World Series…

A couple weeks ago 30 SB Nation baseball writers got together and conducted the annual SBN GM Simulation. For three days we acted as the GM of a team - I represented the Red Sox once more - with one goal: prepare the 2023 roster. Each GM is given a roster of current players as of the end of the season, so any move the real teams made during the…

J.D. Martinez, Michael Wacha, Nathan Eovaldi, Matt Strahm and Rich Hill became free agents at 9 a.m. Sunday. A vital Red Sox offseason has started. Xander Bogaerts and Tommy Pham are expected to join them in free agency soon. Bogaerts has until Tuesday to opt out of the remaining three years, $60 million left on his contract. He's expected to do…

We are one game into the 2022 season, and while Opening Day certainly did not go the way we were all hoping here at OTM, it is still a very long year and one game does not a season make. You needn't look very far for an example of this being true, either, as the Red Sox started their 2021 campaign with three straight losses to the lowly Orioles. We…

A new season means the return of a traditional series here at Bless You Boys. If this is your first season with us, let me introduce you to Behind Enemy Lines, the Q&A that aims to provide some expert insight into the upcoming competition. We take time to chat with the folks who run our sister sites, and pick their brains about under-the-radar…

The Toronto Blue Jays will attempt to sweep the three-game series as they face the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Sunday. It's time to continue our MLB odds coverage with a Blue Jays-Red Sox prediction and pick. The Blue Jays defeated the Red Sox 4-1 on Saturday at Fenway Park. Things started slow for Toronto when Bobby Dalbec cracked a solo home…

As the Red Sox embark on a fresh season, a different kind of optimism surrounds the club. Last year at this time, coming off a brutal 2020 campaign, the "bridge year" narrative was in full force. Yet the Red Sox surprised many across baseball, pushing deep into the postseason with a flexible roster and strong chemistry while embracing their…

A month into the offseason things have still been relatively quiet. Only a small handful of big-ticket free agents have signed with new teams, and the Red Sox have so far only made small additions on the fringes. Yet with the Winter Meetings approaching in a little over a week, the Hot Stove could heat up in a hurry. The Red Sox have a lot to do…

The New York Yankees (66-36) continue their difficult road trip Friday, against the rival Boston Red Sox (57-47) for the second game of the four-game set at Fenway Park. The opening game of the series was a bit of a script flip as Boston rampaged for 19 runs in an easy romp over the Yanks. New York looked angry coming off the field. Expect a…

Imagine a rotation of a healthy Chris Sale, an evolved Garrett Whitlock and an emerging Brayan Bello as the Red Sox sneak into the postseason in 2023. It's got a chance to be a good one. But if the Red Sox are serious about contending in what could be Rafael Devers' final year under contract, they're going to need more than a chance. This year's…

Dusty Baker finally got his long-awaited ring as the Houston Astros secured their second World Series title in six years, suffering just two postseason losses at the end of an outstanding regular season. Well done, Houston. Now, can you become the first back-to-back champion in more than two decades? An awful lot will change before Major League…

Get your coffee ready as we've got some morning baseball on tap. The Boston Red Sox host the Minnesota Twins with first pitch at 11:10 a.m. for the annual Patriots' Day matinee. We like the BoSox to keep dominating the Twinkies in our betting picks. The Minnesota Twins will have to set an early alarm as they battle the Boston Red Sox on Patriots'…

With the World Series beginning this week, it's time to break down each part of the Red Sox' roster entering an extremely busy winter for the club. First up, a look at Boston's starting rotation: Similar to the end of last season, the Red Sox will have rotation questions to answer due to expiring contracts. In 2021, lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, as well…

Facing the media for his final press conference of the season, Alex Cora didn't sugarcoat his thoughts on the Red Sox disappointing 2022 season. "We're like the best worst team in baseball," Cora said. "Like, how did this happen?" That's a rhetorical question, of course. Cora had a front row seat all season as his Red Sox consistently…

As recently as the trade deadline, the possibility of making qualifying offers to J.D. Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi this fall wasn't definite, but I leaned yes and yes. The Red Sox refused to trade either of them, which suggested that in addition to whatever half-hearted playoff push they might make, there'd at least be a draft pick in their future…

I want to revisit the deal that brought Edwin Diaz to the Mets as a vehicle to discuss the club's first trade deadline with Billy Eppler as general manager. There are three items to drill down upon: 1. I am not sure if we were always this impatient as a society in general and in sports in specific or if social media/confrontational sports-talk…

The Houston Astros go for the series sweep over the New York Yankees Wednesday at Minute Maid Park. First pitch will come at 7:40 p.m. Eastern. We went 5-4 in MLB picks Tuesday, as we start to regroup from the unpredictable start to the year. Odds provided by FanDuel; for a full-set of today's sports betting odds, access them at USA TODAY…

The Major League Baseball playoffs roll on Thursday with the start of the National League Division Series in Los Angeles and Atlanta. All eight teams still standing have reasons to be optimistic about their chances of bringing home a championship. The road to the World Series should run through Los Angeles in the NL and Houston in the American…