With a record of 89 wins and 73 losses, the Red Sox finished third in the American League East, seven games behind the Tampa Bay Rays.

[5] On November 5, 2009, the day after the Red Sox-rival Yankees clinched their 27th title, Boston declared numerous players free agents.

Among these free agents were: left-fielder Jason Bay, left-handed relief pitcher Billy Wagner, and productive bench-outfielder Rocco Baldelli.

On the same day, Boston traded pitchers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez to the Florida Marlins for a young outfielder named Jeremy Hermida.

Contrary to popular opinion, Epstein supported Hermida saying, "We still think there's a good hitter in there ... Jeremy is a player who hasn't fulfilled his potential yet.

Scutaro had a break-out season with Toronto in 2009, batting .282, scoring 100 runs, belting 12 homers, and producing a .379 OBP as the leadoff hitter.

Bonser pitched for the Twins from 2006–2008 before undergoing season-ending right shoulder surgery in the spring of 2009, compiling an 18–25 record with a sub-par 5.12 ERA, striking out 317 in 391.2 innings and 60 starts.

[12] The following week, on December 16, 2009, Boston made a double-headed offseason splash that eclipsed the Scutaro signing the previous month.

He has eclipsed 20 home runs in eight different seasons, while playing for the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and, of course, the Brewers.

[15] To continue the impressive and economical 2009–10 offseason by the Boston front office, Theo Epstein added former Mariner and Los Angeles Dodger, third-baseman Adrián Beltré, to the Bay-less 2010 roster.

Beltre had a very down year with Seattle in 2009, hitting only .265 with 8 HR and 44 RBI in 111 games and 477 at-bats, a performance severely hindered by left shoulder woes.

[16] Speculation arose, however, concerning the intellectuality of this move, as many had questioned Beltre's offensive capabilities, and those of the Red Sox themselves, stating that the loss of Jason Bay would hurt the club, who have won at least 95 games in all but one of Terry Francona's seasons as manager.

One day prior, the Red Sox acquired another Mariner infielder/outfielder Bill Hall via trade in exchange for poorly-performing first-baseman/outfielder Casey Kotchman, filling a hole at first base for Seattle, who have declined to re-sign first-baseman slugger Russell Branyan.

The Mariners are paying the better part of Hall's 2010 salary, and the rest is being sent to the Red Sox in the form of cash considerations.

In his three-year career with Boston, the 34-year-old veteran is 12–4 with six saves, a 2.72 ERA, 192 IP, and 172 K, while showing remarkable consistency, making at least 60 appearances each season.

The left-handed hitter is projected as a back-up to the Boston outfield, composed of Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Cameron and J. D. Drew, but is happy nonetheless.

[21] On February 10, 2010, fans gathered at Fenway Park to kick off the Red Sox preseason by celebrating Truck Day.

General manager Theo Epstein set the tone for the regular season by characterizing it as a "bridge year", referring to the next wave of key talent that will be ready to take the field in 2011 and 2012.

For the 2010 season, Epstein brought in new additions: Marco Scutaro, Adrián Beltré, Mike Cameron and John Lackey.

Starter players Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis suffered season ending injuries.