Not so long ago, the Red Sox appeared to be buried, but a hand has suddenly shot up out of the dirt. Boston’s season started so poorly that manager Alex Cora was fired just a month in. Triple-A manager Chad Tracy was called up to take over on an interim basis. That didn’t immediately improve things. On June 24, about two months into Tracy’s tenure, the Sox were 32-46 and in last place in the American League. Key contributors like Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet were on the injured list and nowhere close to returning. FanGraphs pegged their playoff odds at 9.4%.
Since then, they have been the hottest team in the league. They have gone 20-3 in their last 23, including a 15-game win streak that was just snapped last night. The Sox are now 52-49 and in possession of a Wild Card spot. They have gone from clear sellers to clear buyers in the span of a few weeks.
Record: 52-49 (62.4% playoff odds, per FanGraphs)
Buy Mode
Potential needs: Infield, catcher, right-handed bat, rotation depth, bullpen
Infield
Boston’s infield picture has been shifting throughout the year without ever being inspiring. First base has been the exception, with Willson Contreras doing great work, but there have been issues everywhere else. Third base is less of an issue now, as Caleb Durbin appears to have put an awful start behind him. He hit .183/.250/.280 through the end of May but has hit .297/.356/.527 since the calendar flipped to June.
The middle infield is still very questionable. Trevor Story slashed .206/.244/.303 with a 32.4% strikeout rate in 41 games before he required hernia surgery in May. Marcelo Mayer then got a shot at taking over the shortstop job, moving over from second. He didn’t perform especially well and then he himself hit the IL about a month after Story’s surgery, due to a stress reaction in his left ulna. Utility guy Isiah Kiner-Falefa is on the IL as well. For now, Tsung-Che Cheng and Anthony Seigler are holding down the middle infield spots but they’re lacking experience and not providing much value.
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