The Boston Red Sox’s season came to a glaring halt last week with a Wild Card exit at the hands of their archrivals, the New York Yankees. Even though right now, they are getting beaten down black and blue by Toronto. The Red Sox’s journey, though, is done and dusted, and on Monday, the organization held the end-of-season press conference. Everyone from Sam Kennedy, Craig Breslow, and Alex Cora, was present. And they very candidly, and without sugarcoating, mentioned what went wrong and what needed to change.

Right from the start, they were quick to mention the fundamentals. Craig Breslow said, “We can talk about the different elements of the game and say that we have to examine our defense. We led the league in errors, and that’s not good enough. At the same time, I think our outfield defense was the best in baseball.” Well, Trevor Story’s 19 errors and Alex Bregman’s early-game struggles at third did highlight some of the rough patches of the team. And Ceddane Rafaela and Wilyner Abreu shone in the outfield. Jarren Duran also had his moments of inconsistency.

But the most glaring issue of all was definitely the offense- and Boston’s front office did touch upon it.

Down the stretch, the Boston Red Sox have failed to drive in runners in scoring position. Gordo reported that Breslow said, “Other teams that are still alive right now hit the ball out of the ballpark more than the Red Sox do, and that is how teams score in the postseason. We are open to everything to try and get more home run power.” This is a telling admission, because power hitting is what October calls for, and they simply lacked it.

Moreover, injuries didn’t help either. Bregman, the one they laid their hopes and dreams on, got sidelined in May for 43 games. He finished with a .821 OPS, 18 home runs, 62 RBIs, and a 3.4 WAR. Sure, it is not bad, but it is simply not cutthroat for postseason games. Not to mention, right now, the stress of whether Bregman will even remain in red and white is a big one. Cora, although he did mention that there has been a lot of progress, given young stars like Roman Anthony, Garrett Crochet, and Marcelo Mayer have performed well.

Another area that Breslow flagged was pitching. “No one will sit in this seat and say there’s enough pitching in the organization,” he said. The second half of the season did highlight that injuries can cripple even the best of the roster. Hence, for now, maybe strategic additions via trade or even free agency, especially in the rotation, seem like the most likely scenario.

Red Sox’s Carlos Narváez to Undergo Surgery after a great season!

Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow shared some grim news during the press conference—catcher Carlos Narvaez is scheduled to undergo surgery this week to “clean up” his meniscus. Breslow didn’t exactly mention details on when the injury appeared, but he mentioned that Narvaez’s knee flared up a few times throughout the season. He was actually sidelined for three games in August due to the same issue, though he did not land in the IL.

Alex Speier of the Boston Globe confirmed that it is a meniscus tear. The Boston Red Sox, however, are optimistic that he will have a full offseason to recover and be ready for spring training. And really, what makes this all the more impressive is that Carlos Narvaez has played a full season while he dealt with the injury. He slashed .241/.306/.419 with a .725 OPS, and he delivered a breakout first half before he slowed down after the All-Star break.

Offensively, the 26-year-old did struggle in the second half, though. He batted just .187/.233/.387 in 45 games. But while that was lacking, his defense has been top-par. He ranked in the 88th percentile in blocks above average, 98th in caught stealing above average, and 85th in framing. Not just that, he even recorded 11 defensive runs saved, which is the second-most in MLB behind Giants backstop Patrick Bailey. Although the team had mentioned that he would be ready on time, it would be smart to explore some backup options in case things go sideways. Moreover, given that Connor Wong, their backup catcher, struggled at the plate.