The Red Sox’s season has not gone as they’d hoped so far, and it seems to be impacting the clubhouse.
Outfielder Rob Refsnyder admitted, “We suck right now,” after team’s 3-2 loss to the Brewers on Memorial Day that leaves Boston at 27-29, good for fourth place in the AL East.
The Sox are 7.5 games behind the division-leading Yankees and 2.5 games out of the last AL wild-card spot.
“I’m tired of losing, tired of losing close games,” Refsnyder, a former Yankee, told reporters after the team’s third straight loss. “We just need to figure it out and win some games. Bottom line.”
The 34-year-old continued to vent after he was asked about frustrations being amplified when they lose despite a strong performance from offseason trade acquisition Garrett Crochet, who took the loss Monday despite giving up two runs in 6 ⅔ innings on five hits and two walks with 11 strikeouts.
“It’s disappointing that we can’t come through for him,” Refsnyder said after the Sox went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position in the defeat. “It’s not for a lack of effort or work ethic, game-planning. We’re just not doing it. We suck right now. We’ve just got to be better.”
Third baseman Alex Bregman, whose signing on a three-year, $120 million contract led the Red Sox to move star Rafael Devers to DH in a move he initially expressed displeasure about, was placed on the IL over the weekend with a quad injury.
Bregman has 11 home runs, 35 RBIs, a .299 average and .938 OPS in 51 games this season.
Things have not gone well for another high-priced free agent, Trevor Story, who has six home runs, 21 RBIs, a .222 average and .594 OPS in 52 games.
Story, 32, is in the fourth year of a six-year, $140 million contract.
And while Crochet has been great, the rest of their rotation has been inconsistent at best.
Refsnyder, a reserve outfielder, is hitting .314 with a .981 OPS in 59 plate appearances this year and had two walks in Monday’s loss.
The Red Sox play the Yankees for the first time this season starting June 6 in The Bronx.