Offseason moves might land Red Sox back in mix

BOSTON -- After finishing 2015 in the cellar of the American League East for the third time in the last four seasons, the Boston Red Sox have nowhere to go but up in 2016. But their expectations for 2016 will be much higher than just adding a few ticks to their 78-84 record, which was better than just four other AL teams.

In fact, USA TODAY Sports projects the Red Sox to win 10 more games, which we believe will be enough to win the American League East this season.

Expecting any team to pull off a worst-to-first turnaround is a lofty challenge. But the Red Sox know it can be done. They won a World Series championship in 2013 under new manager John Farrell after a dreadful 2012 when they finished 69-93, which was merely a continuation of their epic collapse at the end of the 2011 season that cost them a playoff berth.

They certainly have the pieces in place to vault to the top of the division — if those pieces perform as expected.

Asked if he thought he had built a winner this winter, Dave Dombrowski, who joined the Red Sox in August as president of baseball operations, replied with a chuckle: “We’re happy with the offseason moves that we made, but that’s always determined on the field.”

The expectations will be highest on left-hander David Price, whom Dombrowski brought in as a free agent in December to give the Red Sox the ace they so badly missed last season. (Boston’s top winner was Wade Miley, who was 11-11 with a 4.46 ERA.)

Price, 30, the 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner who finished second last season after going a combined 18-5 with a league-best 2.45 ERA between the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays, agreed to a seven-year, $217 million deal. It is the second time Dombrowski has acquired Price after trading for the lefty at the July 31 deadline in 2014 while with the Tigers — and then sending him to Toronto at last season’s deadline. Price was the first player Dombrowski mentioned as a target to his new bosses.

Dombrowski also reshaped the bullpen with the acquisition of right-hander Craig Kimbrel in a trade with the San Diego Padres for four prospects. The move allows Kimbrel, one of baseball’s most dominant closers with 225 career saves and a 1.63 ERA in six seasons with the Atlanta Braves and Padres, to take over the Red Sox job. It shifts Koji Uehara — who turns 41 on April 3 and whose 2015 season was cut short by a broken right wrist — and Junichi Tazawa into setup roles.

“One of the best in baseball,” Dombrowski said of Kimbrel, who is under team control until 2019. “We look for him to be our guy back there for years to come.”

The Price and Kimbrel acquisitions allow the Red Sox to go from suspects to legitimate contenders in the division. The Red Sox also added right-hander Carson Smith, 26, and lefty Roenis Elias, 27 — who have proved to be capable middle relievers — to their bullpen in a deal that sent Miley to the Seattle Mariners and the power bat of Chris Young to the outfield as a free agent.

“(Price is) such a great pitcher, that’s first and foremost,” general manager Mike Hazen said. “It’s going to be a huge edge going into the season with him. But also underneath that, in the clubhouse, the way he carries himself, the expectation of work, the expectation of winning. We’ve had that here. We’re going to continue to have that. I think he embodies that. So does Kimbrel, Chris Young and others. So I think that group of guys that are coming in, we feel really good about from those standpoints, as well.”

And, with their core of returning veterans, including second baseman Dustin Pedroia, designated hitter David Ortiz — who announced on his 40th birthday in November that he would retire after the season — and catcher Ryan Hanigan, along with their emerging young stars — shortstop Xander Bogaerts (age 23); outfielders Mookie Betts (23) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (25); left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (22), catchers Blake Swihart (23) and Christian Vazquez (25) — the Red Sox should be formidable.

“You look back on 2015, and our young players are the ones that carried this team to the extent that they did,” Farrell said. “And we’re going to continue to build around them.”

But, the Red Sox also have high expectations — and as many questions — for several other players, most notably Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez.

The pair joined the Red Sox last season on free agent contracts — Sandoval on a five-year, $95 million deal, Ramirez for four years and $88 million. Both were huge disappointments.

Sandoval, 29, is expected to return to his third-base position while Ramirez, 32, is expected to take over at first base — his second consecutive season attempting to play a position he has never played before after a disastrous defensive showing in left field last season. Ramirez’s 2015 season also was complicated by a shoulder injury.

Farrell, who returns healthy after his 2015 season was cut short when he was diagnosed with lymphoma in August, expects both players to rebound this season.

“I think in both cases they’re eager to redeem years which were down for them,” he said. “They would both acknowledge they didn’t perform to their own expectations, and — quite frankly — being in the middle of our order, we need them to perform to their capabilities.”

For a variety of reasons — expectations, hope, health — this offseason had a different feel to it than recent ones.

“We’ve got some ground to make up after the last couple of years,” Farrell said. “This is a team that’s got to go out and execute. But I’m excited about what the potential capabilities are.”

The Red Sox also have an additional incentive to turn around their fortunes this season.

“I can tell you this, (Ortiz) wants nothing more than to win,” Farrell said. “He wants to win another World Series before it’s over — that would mean this year. And his focus is just that. It’s not about a tour, so to speak, that he would be on or we would be on with him involved. The bottom line is he wants to win, and that’s where the focus is.”