Just when it appeared that the Boston Red Sox were destined to become sellers at the trade deadline, they have pulled off five consecutive wins, including a four-game sweep at home over the New York Yankees. Suddenly, Boston is only 4 1/2 games back of the third American League wild card spot.
Boston is still 37-46 on the season and in last place in the AL East, but they are far from out of the picture, especially considering how weak the American League has been. In fact, the team in possession of the last wild card spot, the Seattle Mariners have an even .500 record.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote a column on the Red Sox discussing their chances of making the playoffs. On Foul Territory, he gave a hot take on where things stand with the team.
“When a team like the Red Sox suddenly plays a little bit better, their roster is in a little bit of a better place, actually a much better place in some respects and they’re 4 1/2 games out in the wild card in a bad league, yeah, they can dream” Rosenthal said.
“Now, are the Red Sox ready to be declared an absolute contender? The answer to that of course is no. But would you say that the six teams ahead of them, including Seattle are that much better and are that loaded themselves? No, you would not say that either.”
Ken Rosenthal Not Giving Up on Red Sox
The Red Sox are an interesting team because they have a very flawed roster in a lot of ways. They failed to re-sign Alex Bregman and are paying the price for it with a lackluster offense.
The Red Sox also started off very poorly and fired manager Alex Cora, along with several other coaches. So, there was a lot of turnover for Boston. Yet they aren’t buried in the AL wild card race just yet, and there still is a lot of time left in the regular season. With the AL being as weak as it is, it’s hard to completely write off the Red Sox, especially when the competition in the wild card race is not full of powerhouses.
The second half of the season should be interesting for the Red Sox as they look to gain some more ground and potentially take one of the three wild card spots. They were the second wild card team last season.
Trade Deadline Coming Soon
The trade deadline will also be a very interesting time for the Red Sox. How they play between now and August 3 will shape what they do. If they stay hot, they could be in play for some upgrades, particularly in the middle infield, as Mark Feinsand of MLB.com notes.
If not, they have a few players that they can trade as sellers. They still have a long road ahead of them, but they could play their way into becoming buyers in the next few weeks. It will be interesting to see what path Craig Breslow takes.
Red Sox Receive Strong Take From Insider Amid Recent Hot Stretch