After a four-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Major League Baseball is set to return next month with a season that will be unlike anything we've seen before.
The 2020 MLB campaign will be 60 games, which obviously is an enormous change from the 162-game seasons we've grown accustomed to. To put it into perspective, the 2019 World Series champion Washington Nationals were a subpar 27-33 after 60 games.
A shortened season could benefit teams that may not have otherwise been built to last a full 162-game schedule. In a conversation with WBZ-TV's Dan Roche, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner explained why he likes Boston's title chances in a 60-game marathon.
Get the latest news and analysis on all of your teams from NBC Sports Boston by downloading the My Teams App
“What’s good about 60 games is that every game is important. Any team is capable of going on a 10-game winning streak and we’ve got some enormous talent on the team,” Werner told Roche on Friday. “It’s a shame that Chris Sale isn’t playing, but I would compare the left side of our infield [Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts] to any infield in baseball and J.D. Martinez is an outstanding DH. I like our chances.”
There absolutely is too much talent in the Red Sox lineup to count them out in 2020, but pitching has always been the concern. Following the loss of Chris Sale to Tommy John surgery and the trade that sent David Price to Los Angeles, Eduardo Rodriguez will be counted on to anchor a rotation that also consists of Nathan Eovaldi, Ryan Weber, Martin Perez, Brian Johnson, and Collin McHugh. Not exactly "murderer's row."
Of course, in a season that will be abbreviated by a whopping 102 games, anything is possible.
MLB has yet to officially announce a schedule, but Opening Day is expected to be on July 23.