The 2018 Red Sox: Where Are They Now?

The 2018 Red Sox will go down as one of the greatest Red Sox teams of all time. They set an organization record for wins in a season with 108 and ended up beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series in only five games. Six years later, only one player from this team remains on the Red Sox. Most of the other guys are still in the league, and in this article, I will outline what team they are on now and what they have been doing since this remarkable World Series run in 2018.

Starting Pitchers: Chris Sale, David Price, Nathan Eovaldi, Rick Porcello, and Eduardo Rodriguez

Chris Sale was on the Red Sox up until this offseason. He was great in his first two years with the Sox after being traded from the White Sox, but after signing an extension in 2019, he was riddled with injuries. He never played a full season with the Red Sox after the World Series run. As of right now, he is on the Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately, for the Red Sox, he is performing really well for this Braves team.

After being the key reason the Sox won the series, clinching game 5 in 2018 David Price was involved in the Mookie Betts trade to the Dodgers. He opted out of the 2020 COVID-19 shortened season for personal reasons. In 2021, the Dodgers stuck him in the bullpen, and he finished the year with a 4.03 ERA. He ended the 2022 season with a 2.45 ERA in 40 appearances out of the bullpen. He retired after the 2022 season on the Dodgers.

Nathan Eovaldi won the hearts of all Red Sox fans with his six-inning relief appearance in the 18-inning marathon of game 3 of the World Series. He was incredibly clutch in the postseason with the Red Sox, and after staying with the Sox until 2022, he left for the Texas Rangers. He was a key player in their World Series win last season. Eovaldi is still on the Rangers and is one of their best-starting pitchers.

Rick Porcello played for the Red Sox from 2015 to 2019. His tenure with Boston was highlighted by a Cy Young Award in 2016, and a World Series win in 2018. He was always solid and dependable for the Sox, and after 2019, he left for the New York Mets. In his lone season with the Mets, he started 12 games and finished with a 5.64 ERA, and after not pitching in 2021 or 2022, he retired. 

Eduardo Rodriguez was always a consistent, solid contributor to the Red Sox. He always seemed to come up clutch in the big moments, especially in the 2021 playoff run for the Red Sox. After that 2021 season, he left for the Detroit Tigers. He started 43 games for the Tigers and had a 3.58 ERA. After last year, he joined the Arizona Diamondbacks; he has yet to make his debut for the D-Backs as he is on the 60-day IL with a left shoulder injury.

Catchers: Christian Vasquez and Sandy Leon

Vasquez played for the Red Sox from 2014 to 2022. He truly was a homegrown talent. In the middle of the 2022 season, he was traded to the Astros and helped win the World Series against the Phillies. Currently, he plays for the Minnesota Twins and is their starting catcher. Over his one and quarter seasons with the Twins, he is .215 with only seven home runs. At the time, I did not like the trade we made with the Astros, but it is safe to say that the Red Sox won that trade.

After Leon left the Red Sox for the Guardians in 2019, he played for three other teams, including the Marlins, Twins, and Rangers. He was never a great hitter, but he was always a great fielder. His offensive numbers dropped from already bad to even worse after he left the Red Sox. He retired as a member of the Rangers after appearing in just 21 games last year.

First Basemen: Steve Pearce and Mitch Moreland

Steve Pearce, who joined the Sox in mid-2018, became a key contributor to this team and ended up winning the World Series MVP. He hit .333 and had three home runs in the five-game series. He played in just 29 games with the Red Sox in 2019, batting .180 with only one home run. After the 2019 season, he retired as a Red Sox. 

Mitch Moreland started his career with the Rangers and joined the Red Sox before the 2017 season. In a crucial game four, Moreland came up with two men on base and the Sox down by four; the at-bat resulted in a clutch home run that sparked a huge comeback win for Boston. In the middle of the 2020 season, Moreland was traded from the Sox to the Padres. He played just half a season with the Padres and then left for the A’s. He played in 81 games for the A’s in 2021. He officially retired in 2023 after not playing all of 2022.

Second Basemen: Ian Kinsler and Brock Holt

Ian Kinsler joined the Red Sox at the trade deadline. He hit just .242 for the Sox in 2019. He was considered a good addition at the deadline but ended up disappointing. His offensive production was not great, and he made crucial errors on the field during the playoffs. After the 2019 season, he played one more season with the Padres, and he retired after that. Shortly after his retirement, he joined the Padres front office, and currently, he works for the Rangers in the front office.

Brock Holt was a fan favorite. He could do it all on the field, and he did it all for the Sox, playing seven out of nine positions on the field during his time with the Sox. In the 2018 playoffs, he became the first player to hit for the cycle in the playoffs. In the World Series, he did not do much. He left the Red Sox after the 2019 season. And retired with the Rangers after the 2021 season. Fans will always remember his positive attitude and bright presence in the clubhouse.

Shortstop: Xander Bogaerts

Bogaerts was one of two members of the 2018 World Series who were also on the 2013 World Series-winning team (Brandon Workman was the other). Bogaerts was likable, and his on-field performance solidified him as a top-ten shortstop of his generation. He went cold in the World Series in 2018, but that is not what fans remember him for. They remember him by his clutch hitting and steady fielding at short. Currently, he is the starting second baseman for the Padres.

Third Basemen: Rafael Devers and Eduardo Nunez

Both of these guys split time at third, and both of them came up big in the World Series. Nunez hit a game-sealing three-run home run in game one, and Devers hit a go-ahead single in the aforementioned comeback win in game four of the World Series. Nunez left the Sox after the 2019 season and played just one year with the Mets before retiring. Devers is now the only player left on the Red Sox from the 2018 team. He is now the Sox Franchise player after signing a 10-year contract worth over 310 million dollars. He will be a mainstay in the Sox lineup for years to come.

Outfielders: Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Mookie Betts

This outfield trio was the best in the league then, and they were such an entertaining group. Mookie was the first to leave, after he was traded from the sox before the 2020 season, in quite possibly one of the worst trades in MLB history. He was key in the 2018 run, and this season, he won his lone MVP award after hitting .346 with 32 home runs. He was by far the best player on this team, and it was such a sad day when he was traded to the Dodgers in February 2020. In his first year with the Dodgers in 2020, they won the World Series, and last year he finished second in MVP voting. 

Benintendi was traded from the Red Sox to the Royals before the 2021 season. He had a disappointing end to his tenure with the Sox. He appeared in just 14 games in 2020 and hit .103 before ending the season on the IL. In 2018, Benintendi poured in 16 home runs and hit just under .300 at .290. He is currently a member of the Chicago White Sox. 

Bradley Jr. was never a very good hitter but was one of the best fielding center fielders in the game for a while. In the 2018 playoff run, he won ALCS MVP, after hitting 2 hr and 9 RBI, all of them monumentally clutch. He also hit a game-tying home run in game three of the World Series, eventually sending it to extras. He signed with the Brewers in 2020 and then was traded back to the Sox before the 2021 season. He was released by the Sox in the middle of 2021 and was signed by the Jays. He retired with the Royals after last season.

Designated Hitter: JD Martinez

JD Martinez put together a career in 2018 hitting .330 and 43 home runs. In the series clinching game 5 Martinez added a solo home run to add to the Sox lead. Martinez remained on the team until 2022. He left for the Dodgers and played for them for one season last year, he is currently on the New York Mets. His offensive production was truly missed last year.

Closer: Craig Kimbrel

Craig Kimbrel seemed to always give everyone a heart attack throughout these playoffs, but always managed to get the job done. Since he left the Red Sox after 2018 he is played for a whole bunch of teams, five to be exact. He is one of eight closers to have more than 400 saves, and is one of the greatest relief pitchers of all time. He is currently the closer for the Baltimore Orioles.

This team was one of the most entertaining teams to watch and it was so fun to tune in almost every summer night to see what they could do. As a Red Sox fan I was so excited for the future with this team, but unfortunately the front office and owners decided to break up this team way earlier than they should have.