Are the Red Sox good enough to make the playoffs?

The club is better now than it was at the end of last season. The pitching staff has improved significantly both in terms of talent and depth, and the rotation now boasts a true ace in Garrett Crochet, who could potentially compete for a Cy Young Award this season. Even without any external additions the lineup should get a boost from healthy seasons from Trevor Story and Triston Casas, and that doesn’t even factor in the potential impact Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell could have as rookies.

Will that be enough? The trouble is the rest of the league hasn’t been sitting on its hands.

Everyone knows about what the Los Angeles Dodgers have done, and the defending World Series champions stand as heavy favorites to become the first team to repeat since the Yankees won three in a row between 1998 and 2000. Yet while the Dodgers won’t be a problem unless the Red Sox actually make the Fall Classic, the other American League contenders have improved as well, with the AL East in particular remaining a minefield the club will be hard-pressed to navigate.

So how do the Red Sox fit into the big picture? Here’s a look around the game as the offseason winds down.

Last year Boston finished 81-81 and in third place, and heading into 2025 the Red Sox will likely be projected to finish third again.

The Red Sox should remain ahead of Toronto and Tampa Bay, who have made some additions but lag behind Boston in terms of overall talent. The Yankees also suffered a massive setback when Juan Soto left for the Mets, but they effectively pivoted by bringing in left-hander Max Fried, closer Devin Williams and outfielder Cody Bellinger. Fried should team with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon to give New York one of the best starting rotations in baseball, and even if Bellinger isn’t the same player who won the 2019 NL MVP, he’s still an excellent defensive player who should benefit from Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch.

And of course, New York still has Aaron Judge.

Coming off their first World Series appearance in 15 years, the Yankees enter 2025 as the favorites to repeat as AL East champions. The Baltimore Orioles also remain a contender, though frankly this offseason has been a disappointment. New owner David Rubenstein hasn’t exactly opened the checkbook and the Orioles’ pitching staff has taken a step back following the loss of Corbin Burnes to the Diamondbacks. Still, Baltimore’s young position player core is so good the Orioles should still easily make the playoffs.

The Red Sox will have their work cut out for them trying to keep pace, and while they may take a step forward, they haven’t done enough to clearly establish themselves as one of the teams to beat.

The AL Central is in an interesting place. On one hand, nobody in the division has made any big offseason splashes. On the other hand, four teams finished above .500 and three made the playoffs. All of those teams have reason to believe they can carry their momentum into 2025.

While the Guardians won 92 games and reached the ALCS last season, the Royals deserve to be considered the favorites to win the AL Central. Bobby Witt Jr. is an incandescent talent and the Royals have continued to bolster the roster around him, most recently signing closer Carlos Estevez to shore up the bullpen. Kansas City made a 30-game improvement from 2023’s 106-loss debacle and should be better prepared to take another step forward now.

The Tigers could also be primed for a step forward after last summer’s incredible late-season surge. Detroit already features AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and now Jackson Jobe, one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, could be poised to join him atop the Tigers’ rotation. The Twins also remain a talented group, despite the brutal end to their season.

One factor potentially working in Boston’s favor is the Chicago White Sox. Last year the other four AL Central teams got to fatten up against the White Sox, who finished as the worst team in modern MLB history. That played an underrated role in helping the division produce four winning teams, and if the White Sox can get back to being just “regular bad” — even a 100-loss season would represent a 21-game improvement! — then the division as a whole should collectively come down to Earth.

That would likely mean no more than one Wild Card team from the AL Central, which would help open the door for the Red Sox to get back into the playoff picture.

The Houston Astros aren’t going anywhere, but the way this offseason has played out the perennial contenders could be in line to take a step back.

Houston traded All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker and set-up man Ryan Pressly to the Cubs, and while he remains unsigned as of this writing, Alex Bregman currently appears set to move on as well. That’s a lot of production, and while the Astros brought in Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes to help replace them, Tucker and Bregman have been cornerstones of the club’s recent success. Losing them will have an impact.

Texas should be much better in 2025 after last year’s dismal title defense, if only because the club is the healthiest it’s been in ages. Jacob deGrom is back from Tommy John surgery, and if he’s even close to his usual self he’ll give the Rangers one of the best pitchers in baseball at the front of its rotation. The Rangers also brought back Nathan Eovaldi and added some power by acquiring Jake Burger and Joc Pederson.

The Mariners, who missed the playoffs by one game last year, have basically done nothing. They’ve added only one major leaguer — infielder Donovan Solano on a one-year deal — and remain exactly the same as they’ve been the last two years. A team with one of the best starting rotations in baseball and a lineup that just isn’t good enough to get the job done.

The Athletics played much better in the second half and have actually had a pretty active offseason, but they still shouldn’t sniff the playoffs. And as for the Angels? Even if they get a healthy and productive season out of Mike Trout, they’ve never shown any ability to compete even with him in the lineup. There’s no reason to expect this season should be any different.

Put it all together and the AL West doesn’t look like it should be anything special. If the Red Sox can’t beat out the runner-ups in the Central and West for, at minimum, either the second or third Wild Card spot, then they’ll have to take a long, hard look in the mirror.

The Red Sox should be grateful they don’t play in the National League, because the senior circuit is where most of the heavy hitters are these days. The Mets in particular made the biggest splash of the offseason by landing Juan Soto, putting the club in position to challenge the Dodgers after falling short in last year’s NLCS.

The NL East as a whole looks like it should be a gauntlet once again. Even though they had a quiet offseason, the Phillies still boast one of the biggest payrolls in baseball and added talented starter Jesus Luzardo and closer Jordan Romano. The Atlanta Braves haven’t done much either beyond signing Jurickson Profar, but they should also get ace Spencer Strider back, and MVP candidate Ronald Acuña Jr. could be ready to debut by May.

The Nationals have some exciting young talent but not enough to finish higher than fourth, and the Marlins are likely looking at another long year.

All things considered the Cubs were among the most disappointing teams in baseball last year. After poaching manager Craig Counsell from the Brewers, they floundered to an 83-win season and watched as Milwaukee cruised to another division title.

Now the Cubs have Kyle Tucker, giving them the kind of premium talent they’ve lacked in recent years. Chicago should be much better equipped to compete with the Brewers, who lost Willy Adames and Devin Williams but should remain a playoff-caliber club.

Though a step below the game’s elite, the Cincinnati Reds have quietly had a productive offseason and could find themselves in the Wild Card hunt. Perhaps their biggest addition will prove to be future Hall of Fame manager Terry Francona. The Cardinals are entering a rebuilding phase and could still trade away third baseman Nolan Arenado, and Pirates fans have Paul Skenes to look forward to, but probably not much else.

A case could be made that last year’s Los Angeles Dodgers were a top-10 MLB team all-time at full health in terms of pure talent. Now the defending World Series champions have loaded up even further, assembling one of the most impressive squads we’ve ever seen.

This winter the Dodgers have added left-hander Blake Snell and 23-year-old sensation Roki Sasaki to a rotation that could also include Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and a returning Shohei Ohtani. They’ve added Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates to their bullpen, re-signed outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and brought in outfielder Michael Conforto and Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim, further bolstering a lineup that still features Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

The Padres, Giants and Diamondbacks all have reason for optimism. San Francisco landing shortstop Willy Adames was a huge get and Arizona snagging Corbin Burnes was one of the biggest coups of the offseason. But the Dodgers are on an entirely different level, and barring an extraordinary series of setbacks there’s no reason Los Angeles shouldn’t cruise to its 12th NL West title in 13 years, and potentially another championship after that.