The Red Sox have played their way into a very different conversation over the past couple of weeks.
Boston is 8-2 in its last 10 games, coming off a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels and, just before that, a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees from Jun. 25-28. The surge has pulled the Red Sox to within 0.5 games of the Toronto Blue Jays for third place in the AL East and four games behind the Texas Rangers for the third and final AL Wild Card spot.
That kind of run changes the mood fast. It also changes the trade deadline outlook, because with a little less than a month to go, Boston suddenly looks like a team that could justify buying.
The biggest reason for the turnaround has been the offense finding some life. Since the start of the Yankees series, the Red Sox have gotten strong production from Willson Contreras (.314 BA, 4 HR, 13 RBIs -- probably should be an All-Star), Anthony Seigler (.313 BA, 1 HR, 2 RBIs -- may be the Red Sox' new starting second baseman), and Caleb Durbin (.257 BA, 3 HR, 7 RBIs -- may actually be a long-term asset).
But even with the bats waking up, the same hole is still staring Boston in the face: this lineup does not have a real power threat. That has been true since the team sent Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants last year.
The numbers are blunt. A little over halfway through the season, the Red Sox rank last in the majors with 78 home runs.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are next-to-last with 82. Boston is also 24th in slugging percentage at .386 and 23rd in OPS at .698.
And the team leader in home runs is Willson Contreras with 20. Jarren Duran is second with 13. Contreras has been Boston’s best hitter all season, and he’s clearly taken advantage of playing in an AL ballpark, but that’s not the kind of gap a contender wants to see at the top of its power chart.
So if the Red Sox decide this hot stretch is enough to push them into buyer mode, the front office should already know the assignment. They need a power bat.
In Other News...
Red Sox Prospects Are Making The System Look Too Deep To Ignore
The latest weekly check-in across the Red Sox farm was the kind that makes a system feel deeper than a single headline name. From Worcester to Portland to Greenville, Boston had multiple prospects turning in productive stretches at the plate and on the mound, with Allan Castro, Mikey Romero, Franklin Arias and Antonio Anderson among the players giving the organization something to track at several levels at once.
What stands out is not just that the numbers were good, but that they were spread around. Castro brought power and run production, Romero drove in a pile of runs, Arias showed a mix of patience and pop, and Greenville kept getting steady offense from Anderson, while Blake Wehunt added a strong pitching line. For a player development staff, that kind of week does not answer every question, but it does make the next one harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
This Bizarre MLB Record Still Belongs To The 2005 Red Sox
The 2005 Red Sox have a strange little corner of MLB history all to themselves, and it has nothing to do with a pennant race or a dramatic October finish. Their season opened with an unusual run of games that never needed extra innings, a stretch that lasted long enough to become a league record and still stands as one of the quirkiest marks attached to that championship club.
It briefly looked like the Dodgers might put that number in danger this season, but their own streak finally ended in an 11-inning game against the Rockies. The common thread is part of what makes the record so odd: both clubs were defending World Series champions while piling up all those regulation games, a reminder that even on title teams, baseball can produce the kind of statistical oddity that lingers for years. [Read more 🡒]
Former Red Sox Infielder Hits An Early Setback In Milwaukee
David Hamiltons return to Milwaukee hit an early snag this week, a reminder that roster churn can turn quickly for a player still trying to settle in with a new club. The Brewers are already adjusting around him, with Greg Jones back on the major league roster and Brandon Lockridge moved to the 60-day injured list to clear space on the 40-man.
For the Red Sox, Hamiltons latest step matters because his path to Milwaukee began in the six-player trade that sent him out of Boston, and he also happens to be a player the Brewers know well from before his time with the Sox. His latest setback leaves another small thread of that deal in motion, even if the bigger picture around the trade is still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]