ESPN routinely goes through a process where they "rank all 30 teams across five different categories (see table) in an attempt to measure how well each team is set up for sustained success over the next five years."
They released their latest list yesterday and the Red Sox are ranked number 1, Cardinals number 2.
Here's the breakdown on the Red Sox:
The Overview
A year ago, even coming off of their disastrous 2012 season, the Red Sox came in 10th in these rankings, and then second in our August update, so it's not like they fell off the map completely even during a period of struggle. They have one of the best farm systems in baseball as well as incredible financial flexibility, with a little less than $14 million committed for the 2016 season, most of which is owed to face of the franchise Dustin Pedroia, who signed one of the most team-friendly deals in baseball last year. — Buster Olney
The Dilemma
The Red Sox have tremendous depth on the mound and infield, but their long-term outfield picture is unclear beyond rookie center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. They should be fine this year with Shane Victorino in right and Jonny Gomes and Daniel Nava once again platooning in left, but they need to find some youth in the outfield corners. — Jim Bowden
Make-or-break year (Law's top 10 Red Sox prospects)
Brian Johnson was the Red Sox's second first-round pick in 2012, after Deven Marrero, as a low-ceiling, quick-to-the-majors starting pitcher, but he took a liner to the face that August and missed about half of 2013 with a shoulder ailment. He's now 23 years old with no projection and should already have been ready for Triple-A, making a healthy 2014 a critical step for him. — Keith Law
The rest of the AL East is ranked like this:
- Rays 12th
- Yankees 13th
- Orioles 14th
Doing the Small Things
Grantland recently did an article on how the Red Sox are using their version of "Moneyball" to gain an edge on their competition. There's some great examples of how the Sox are doing that. Here's one clip having to do with their trainers:
While Cherington understandably wouldn’t go into great detail about the team’s physical therapist program, he lit up when talking about the potential benefits. “If we can find people who are at the top of their field to be hands-on with our players and create, I don’t know, a 5 percent difference in how much [the players are] out there or their level of physical fitness when they’re out there, that can translate into greater performance. So, yes, we have spent a lot of time on the medical area in the last two years, and that’s only going to continue.”