Fanpost Friday: Surprise Performances

The 2020 Boston Red Sox are going to, in all likelihood, need a surprise performance or two if they are to return to the playoffs. Even accounting for positive regression, the Red Sox haven’t improved their roster to this point in the offseason, while the Yankees and Rays each seem to be rather improved, and the Blue Jays are also on the way to being relevant.

Now, there’s also the possibility for someone to massively disappoint. Disappointment is a different kind of surprise. A bad kind. With that said, there are a few players who experienced really good performances a year ago who could take a big step back.

My question this weekend is simple:

Which player on the Red Sox is most likely to surprise (either positively or negatively) and why? What should the Red Sox do to counter this?

Happy Fanposting!