One Boston sports radio's take on how far the Red Sox are away from the potential World Series champions of 2025
On Friday night the 2025 MLB season could come to an end, as the Blue Jays play host to Game 6 of the World Series up 3-2 on the Dodgers.
By the time you read this piece, Toronto could be raising the Commissioner’s Trophy for the third time in franchise history, which would mark their first World Series win since winning back-to-back in 1992 and 1993.
It’s been an absolute journey for a franchise typically mired in mediocrity. But this most recent iteration of Toronto’s baseball team has come together through smart drafting, retaining the right talent, and spending big in free agency. It’s akin to what has made the Dodgers the dominant franchise in baseball over the last decade. Heck, they very nearly lured Los Angeles superstar Shohei Ohtani out of California during his free agency ahead of the 2024 season.
Candidly, Red Sox fans have never taken the Blue Jays seriously. The focus is always on beating the Yankees, and hatred towards the Rays and Orioles, at least from my view, has always far exceeded any sort of feelings I’ve witnessed towards the Jays.
I’m sure there was a faction of fans who hated them with a passion when Roger Clemens left Boston for above the border after the 1996 season. But I was 4 years old. I have no conscious memory of this anger. And with the millennium this franchise has had, that anger is rarely, if ever, discussed. In retirement, Clemens has re-assimilated himself back into Red Sox Nation, routinely seen at Fenway Park as a member of the team’s Hall of Fame.
With that said, there is an air of ‘I can’t believe these guys are doing this’ among the Red Sox fans I interact with on a daily basis, both online and in-person. How can Boston’s little brother in the AL East be on the doorstep of a World Series title, yet Boston couldn’t even make it out of the wild card round? It just ain’t right!
Jun 27, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) reacts after being called out at home during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The call was overturned to safe scoring a run for the Toronto Blue Jays after review. (Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images)According to one Boston sports radio show, Sox fans shouldn’t have to wait much longer for their team to join Toronto as a true threat to win it all in the coming years.
Here’s what WEEI’s Adam Jones and Rich Keefe said this week on “Jones and Keefe:”
Adam Jones: “The Red Sox bullpen is way better than their bullpen. And I don't think the Red Sox starting pitching is far off. [Garrett Crochet] is better than [Kevin] Gausman - not even close.”
Rich Keefe: “Correct. Like, this [Trey] Yesavage guy was insane last night. But like, overall, you weren't thinking that.”
Jones: “I think [Shane Bieber] has been a pretty good addition, but he had a 4.50 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP going into his Game 4 start.”
Keefe: “[Lucas] Giolito was way more important to the Red Sox than Bieber was to the Blue Jays during the year.”
Jones: “So was [Brayan] Bello. And so then you have Yesavage, who was incredible. Punching out Ohtani with his helmet flying off .. So Yesavage was incredible, but that's a rookie out of nowhere dominating, which the Red Sox could have had with [Payton] Tolle or could have had with Connelly [Early]. Like, ‘How do you put Connolly Early in the spot like that?’ The Blue Jays are doing the exact same thing. And the kid is unbelievable. And he might be head and shoulders better than your young pitching. He might be, he looks that way. I'm just telling you, the kid got 3 regular season starts, and they threw him out there.”
Keefe: “No this is - they're not that far away.”
Jones: “I don't think so either! It's a good story that the Blue Jays are going to beat the Dodgers, if they do, because that means you're really not that far away. Now, the Dodgers far and away have the top payroll in baseball. I think the Blue Jays are top-five, if I'm not mistaken. So they spend more than you, and you need to spend more, and hopefully that's on a big bat this offseason, in addition to bringing back [Alex] Bregman. But if you do that, I really, genuinely do not think you're far away from Toronto.”
Jones: “No, honestly. And don't not do anything because of this, but what does a full season of Roman Anthony look like? You add that to the mix. I'm not really banking on a full season out of our guy Marcello Mayer, but maybe you get that as well. And then another addition or two, you're really knocking on the door.”
Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.