The uncomfortable predicament in which the Boston Red Sox will find themselves on the first day of 2023 is simple: Their roster appears to be significantly less talented than it was in 2022, when the Red Sox finished last in the American League East. And that team was much worse than the 2021 bunch that earned a feel-good wild-card berth and turned it into a trip to the American League Championship Series.

Downward is not the trajectory the modern-day Red Sox, with wealthy-enough owners and an always-eager fan base, are supposed to move. But they have not pivoted to forward motion as a new calendar year begins.

Importantly, calendar years and baseball years do not begin on the same day. The Red Sox have three months until Opening Day, plenty of time to refurbish a roster that began this season in need of something closer to a full remodel – then lost the foundation when shortstop Xander Bogaerts, the stated offseason priority for Boston’s front office, took an 11-year deal from the San Diego Padres instead.

But the urgency with which Boston has approached this offseason – urgency here, fairly or not, defined by the results of their pursuits – feels somewhat incongruous with what those who treasure the franchise expect.

They reportedly reached a deal with 38-year-old third baseman/designated hitter Justin Turner, effectively replacing the younger J.D. Martinez. They added a less proven but potentially helpful everyday outfielder in Japanese star Masataka Yoshida, a left-handed hitter who hit .327 with a .960 OPS in seven seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, which could prove to be a much bigger move than it feels before Yoshida has had a chance to prove himself in the majors. And they did revamp their bullpen, which will now include Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin and Joely Rodriguez, all of whom should help. They reportedly agreed to a deal with veteran starter Corey Kluber, who offers stability to a rotation that desperately needs some.

But as has been true for much of Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom’s tenure, Boston’s offseason will be as memorable for who departed as for who joined. They lost Bogaerts to San Diego, starter Nathan Eovaldi to the Texas Rangers and released first baseman Eric Hosmer. They designated prospect Jeter Downs for assignment, a poignant reminder of the disappointment that has seized this franchise since it traded Mookie Betts to Los Angeles for a prospect package in which Downs was a key draw.

Bloom made the Betts deal before the 2020 season, one that has become symbolic of the franchise’s approach under his regime: Homegrown stars have not stayed. Free agent stars have not come. And a franchise that always seemed to have money to spend and a city that cares has stagnated in a division that does not make way for the mediocre.

The Bogaerts deal was particularly jarring because Bloom had said many times that the Red Sox wanted desperately to re-sign him. Conversations with league executives and other agents suggest widespread skepticism that Bogaerts will be worth the $280 million San Diego gave him. Perhaps, one could argue, the Red Sox were wise to show restraint.

But Bogaerts’s decision came after years of advanced notice in which the Red Sox had the chance to negotiate an extension and were not able to do so. The decision to trade Betts came because of the expectation that he, too, would choose a new home in free agency. Now, the only starting infielder and bona fide Boston-grown superstar left from the team Bloom inherited is entering his final year before free agency. Bloom has said locking up third baseman Rafael Devers is a priority, too.

“(Extending Devers is) something we very much have wanted to do. We very much continue to hope to be able to extend,” Bloom recently told the Boston Globe. “We’re going to keep trying and we’re really hopeful we can align.”

Yet the predominant feeling about the Red Sox seems to be that signing stars or retaining them simply shouldn’t be this hard. Exactly how much of that feeling is a result of Bloom’s leadership is difficult to quantify, but there is a sense around the game and the franchise that his hands are often tied by owner John Henry’s less-aggressive approach. Henry’s Red Sox had the highest payroll in baseball in 2018 and 2019, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. The year after they traded Betts, that payroll plummeted to 13th overall, then climbed back to sixth (and more than $200 million).

Boston currently has less than $190 million committed to its Opening Day roster, according to Roster Resource. They are not spending freely, but they are not exactly scaling back. But that money has bought them a tremendous amount of uncertainty in their lineup and rotation, so much so that a disappointing start to the season could lead them to consider dealing Devers or even ace Chris Sale at the deadline.

But Sale is an example of why all may not be lost for this team. Sale, who was an All-Star every year from 2012 to 2018 before a flurry of injuries limited him, has pitched in 11 games since the end of the 2019 season. If he returns from a broken wrist and finger suffered last season, which the Red Sox expect him to do, the Red Sox might inherit an ace they have been missing since the days when Betts roamed their outfield.

If Kiké Hernández and Trevor Story are both healthier than they were last season, the top and middle of the Boston order looks formidable enough to be competitive. If Kluber is good and James Paxton is healthy and Garrett Whitlock evolves and . . . well, they certainly have the prospects to add star power at the trade deadline if their season calls for it.

Henry has proven he can spend when he wants. The Red Sox farm system is deep enough to deal from, too. Solutions remain available, though Boston’s ownership and front office have not exactly been clear in identifying the problem. Maybe everything will work out to allow them to be competitive. But these are the Boston Red Sox. They should not have to cross their fingers.

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