Playoff Push

The Red Sox have heated up since my last article and played well throughout the summer, but they have been on a bit of a skid in their last ten games, having a record of 4-6( as of 9/23). So what’s blocking the playoff push, what’s not clicking, and what needs to?

To take a look back to a few months ago, just after my last article, the Red Sox traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants for young left-handed starter Kyle Harrison, reliever Jordan Hicks, OF James Tibbs, and right-handed Jose Bello.

This trade was insanely controversial and caused many Red Sox fans emotional turmoil. He was the last part of the Red Sox 2018 World Series team and was a comfort player to many. After this trade, many, including myself, wanted General Manager(GM) Craig Breslow gone, as he has made many trades or questionable financial decisions that have left Red Sox fans distraught.

Ultimately, it worked out as in the Devers trade, the Red Sox saved $250 million from Devers’ contract because the Giants took it off their hands in the trade as well. And since the trade, the Red Sox have been one of the hottest teams in baseball, reaching as high as the best team in the wildcard, and are currently sitting at second.

Hotshot rookies Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony, who had been very good for the Red Sox, unfortunately, both got injured, with Mayer’s being season-ending to his wrist and Anthony trying to get through rehab as fast as he can to be back for the playoffs.

 

Without Anthony, the Red Sox have been in a hole offensively and have been 7-9 with his absence. Certain players’ averages have dropped significantly, hitters aren’t working the counts, and rallies seem less often.

The Red Sox are also abysmal at defense, having the most errors in the league at 112. In the American League, they have 14 more errors than the 2nd worst. With this bad of a defense, you definitely need to be able to hit and pitch. Without injuries, that was never a problem as they’re 2nd in the AL hitting-wise and 3rd pitching-wise. But without some key players, it’s looking like it could develop to cost them.

However, to look on the bright side, they have the 5th best ERA, 6th most runs scored, and 12th most home runs. Trevor Story and Garrett Crochet have done everything to help the team, but the main part of the Red Sox is the closer. Aroldis Chapman. He’s had a 1.21 ERA, his best season since 2016 for the Cubs. The lefty can reach 104 MPH with his fastball, but can also get it into the hundreds with his sinker as well. He also mixes in a slider and a splitter to further fool hitters.

There are six games left in the season, and the Red Sox are 5th in the AL playoff picture, but the 6th and 7th teams are only 1 game back and want a playoff spot too. We’ll see where the Red Sox end up soon, but what will be the result?