Ryan O’Hearn of the Baltimore Orioles, right, is safe at first after Red Sox pitcher Kutter Crawford fails to field an errant throw by Ceddanne Rafaela during an August game. The Red Sox infield defense was the worst in the majors this season. Nick Wass/Associated Press

The home clubhouse at Fenway Park is empty. The Red Sox wrapped up their season Sunday, beating the Tampa Bay Rays to finish with an 81-81 record.

It was the ultimate .500 team. Not too bad, not too good … but not good enough to make the playoffs.

In the clubhouse before the final game, players signed autographs for one another and packed up their items to ship home. Enthusiasm for the offseason was pretty dependent on how the season went.

For Quinn Priester, Sunday seemed more like a beginning than an end. Priester, acquired at the trade deadline for fellow first-round pick Nick Yorke, made his Red Sox debut and gave up just one run on four hits over five innings as the starting pitcher

“I just wanted to go out there and do what I do well,” Priester said. “We did it well today. Just continue to build on it.”

Richard Fitts, another 24-year old starting pitcher, made four September starts, allowing just four earned runs over 20 2/3 innings and looking like a bona fide big-league starter. Fitts is still working toward his degree at Auburn University and had a quiz Sunday night. He’s also been a student at Fenway, learning what it will take to stay in the big leagues.

“I think my stuff is pretty good,” Fitts said, “but I’ve got a long way to go before I’m the caliber that I want to be at. I want to strike guys out. I want to go deep into games, and that’s something this offseason that I really want to dive into.”

Starting pitcher Richard Fitts was a bright spot for the Red Sox late in the season, allowing four earned runs in 20 2/3 innings. Adam Hunger/Associated Press

Garrett Whitlock is another pitcher excited about the end of the season. Whitlock underwent an internal bracing procedure on his throwing arm in May and is finally throwing again. After sitting on the sidelines for four months he is now just another pitcher getting ready for next spring.

“Once I found out that I can’t play the rest of the year, I was focused on next season,” said Whitlock. “Obviously I wanted to be around helping the team and everything as much as I could, but for my personal performance I was focused on next year. So, yeah, today is the beginning of next year for me.”

The Sox feel better about their pitching depth then they have in a while. Yet there is still much work to be done to build a team that not only can make the playoffs but contend for a title. That’s always the goal in Boston. Not just having meaningful baseball in August and September, but winning it all.

Manager Alex Cora said “pitching and defense” were what this team needs to build the next great Red Sox team. Boston’s infield defense was the worst in the majors this season, although it was dramatically improved when Trevor Story returned from his injury in September.

Cora was optimistic about the future Sunday. A year ago he admitted the last-place finish challenged his mental health. He discovered running over the past year, and is in much better shape physically and mentally. He vowed 2025 wll be a return to happier times.

“As a group, I truly believe that this is the last struggle,” Cora said. “Moving forward, this offseason, we’ll compete. Spring training, we’ll compete. Roster-wise, it’s going to be a lot of tough decisions next year. You’ve just got to be ready.”

Making the playoffs would be the only way to end the team’s struggles, and Cora said he believes they will be in the postseason in 2025. That’s music to the ears of Sox fans.

For now, the music has faded at Fenway. For the third straight season winter has come to Boston too soon.

Tom Caron is a studio host for the Red Sox broadcast on NESN.