BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox ended the 2014 season with a 9-5 loss to the New York Yankees and finished with a 71-91 record.

“We got a lot of work to do,” Red Sox Manager John Farrell said. “When we took the field on Feb. 15 in Fort Myers, this is not what we envisioned.

Photo Gallery

Related Headlines

• On Baseball: Jeter gets rousing sendoff at Fenway

“That’s not something that sits well.”

The Red Sox, World Series champions in 2013, are on quite a roller-coaster ride, having finished last in 2012.

Now back to the bottom.

“There are a lot of question marks,” said outfielder Daniel Nava, who played in the last game in both the 2012 and 2014 seasons.

“The difference is that we have a lot more younger players. But still, there are so many potential moves that could be made.”

Nava now finds himself in a crowded outfield, one of the areas that Boston needs to figure out.

“I think we have a clear to-do list,” Farrell said. “How we get to that point remains to be seen. We’re confident we’ll achieve that.

“There are a number of good things on this roster, but we have needs.”

Farrell said there were areas of optimism and he pointed to Sunday’s losing pitcher Clay Buchholz as an example, despite an 8-11 record and 5.34 ERA. Buchholz pitched six innings Sunday and looked solid, except for a four-run third inning.

“He finished out the season with solid stuff,” Farrell said. “Been able to answer a very sizable question with Clay and that’s durability. Finished with roughly 170 innings despite missing a month.”

After missing most of June, Buchholz came back to finish with a 4.64 ERA the rest of the way – something to build on.

“The stuff’s good and the best part is that I’m healthy,” Buchholz said.

Farrell pointed out the additions of outfielder Mookie Betts and Rusney Castillo as positives.

Betts, who began this year in Portland, went 2 for 4 Sunday, with a double, two RBI and a stolen base. Besides batting .291 in 52 games, he has an .812 OPS.

Castillo, signed just a month ago, has been working to get into baseball shape. In a small sample (10 major league games), he has looked good with a .333 average and two home runs.

Castillo was 1 for 3 Sunday.

Some players may have played their last game in Red Sox uniforms. Catcher/first baseman Ryan Lavarnway and reliever Drake Britton have spent most of the season in the minors, and they are out of minor league options after this year.

The Red Sox have a $4 million club option on reliever Craig Breslow for next year but that would be a gamble after this season (5.96 ERA). Breslow faced five batters Sunday. All five got a hit and scored.

Breslow pitched in the seventh when the Yankees took a 9-0 lead.

The Red Sox rallied for five in the seventh, knocking out pitcher Miguel Pineda (5-5). Betts and Dan Butler had two-run doubles in the inning.

The game – which was really one big celebration of Derek Jeter – ended with the Red Sox going down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

Boston is down. Can the Red Sox pick themselves up again, like after 2012?

“I’m looking forward to spring training,” Farrell said.

NOTES: Xander Bogaerts did not play because of a slight hamstring strain. Bogaerts finished with a .240 average, but since coming back from a concussion on Aug. 30, he was hitting .311.

Related Stories