The Red Sox are staring at 13 regular-season games and, more than likely, a three-game playoff series against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Boston sits in the No.
2 American League Wild Card spot, 4 1/2 games behind New York for the top spot, and the math for catching the Yankees is steep. With no head-to-head games left and a five-game swing needed over the next two weeks, that chase looks unlikely.
That’s why the attention turns to Triple-A, where Braiden Ward has made a strong case for a call-up.
Boston has already taken a hit in the outfield with Eli White landing on the Injured List because of a right foot ligament injury. Anthony Seigler was recalled, but he was pulled early on Saturday after what looked like a hand/wrist injury. Nate Eaton is on the big league roster and has been fine, but Ward brings a different tool the Red Sox don’t have enough of: game-changing speed.
Ward first caught Red Sox Nation’s eye in Spring Training, when he hit .378/.509/.444 over 27 games with a .953 OPS. He also swiped 19 bases during camp, setting a new Spring Training record.
He hasn’t slowed down since. In Triple-A this season, Ward just broke the Red Sox organization’s single-season Triple-A stolen-base record with 58.
That kind of burst matters even more now. The postseason compresses everything, and in a three-game Wild Card series, one run can flip the entire night.
Ward doesn’t even need to be in the lineup to matter. He could be used as a pinch runner and bring instant pressure every time he steps on the bases.
Red Sox fans know exactly how valuable that can be. Boston has seen what a late-game pinch runner can do, and Ward has the kind of speed that can alter a game in a hurry.
Now is the time to give him a shot.
In Other News...
Ceddanne Rafaela Update Gives Red Sox A Needed Stretch Run Boost
Ceddanne Rafaela has been on the Injured List since Sept. 2 with a right quadriceps strain, and the next step in his return is set for the Red Soxs upcoming series in Texas. The plan is for him to ramp up his running progression there, a sign that Boston is moving him closer to game action at a time when every healthy body matters.
The timing could work out well for the Red Sox, who are hoping to get him back as soon as next weekend against the Rays. If that holds, Rafaela would have roughly nine games to get back to full speed before the postseason begins, giving Boston a chance to reintroduce one of its most important defenders and athletes before October pressure arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Former Yankees Castoff Is Giving Red Sox A Timely Boost
Mickey Gaspers arrival in mid-August has given the Red Sox an unexpected lift at just the right time, and it comes with a familiar twist for this franchise. The former Yankees draft pick has quickly made his presence felt after the call-up, producing at a level that has put him near the top of the league in key offensive categories during that stretch.
It also fits a larger pattern Boston has seen before, with former Yankees players sometimes finding new life in a Red Sox uniform. Gaspers path has not been a straight line, either, as he came to Boston through the minor-league portion of the 2023 Rule 5 draft and has already traveled through trades and waiver claims along the way, making this latest burst feel like another notable turn in a career that has taken plenty of detours. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Suddenly Face A New Worry With Kristian Campbell
Kristian Campbell had started to look like one of the more obvious next-man-up candidates in the Red Sox system, especially with recent performance building and the big-league outfield thinned by injuries. His name had moved into the conversation for a promotion as Boston looked for help, and that alone made him a player worth tracking closely as the season pushed forward.
Now the focus has shifted for a different reason. Campbell was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Worcester with a left foot contusion, which makes an immediate call-up unlikely and introduces a new layer of uncertainty to his path. For a Red Sox club already dealing with outfield instability, the pause is a frustrating one, because the potential solution was just starting to come into view. [Read more 🡒]