After watching Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers get named as the starting left side of the infield for the American League All-Star team, the Boston Red Sox added three more players from their squad to the All-Star roster when the rosters were filled last night.
J.D. Martinez was voted in on the bench, while Nathan Eovaldi and Matt Barnes were selected to the pitching staff.
With five total players on the roster, the Red Sox have the most All-Stars of any team in the league, which is indicative of their place as one of the top teams in baseball. Their turnaround from one of the worst teams in the league to one of the best has been due in large part to this group of five players.
But which player has been most important to this team’s incredible turnaround? That’s the question we pose today, as we set out to rank the Red Sox five All-Stars in terms of importance to the team. Each player could realistically be the most important player, leading to some tough decisions, but without further ado, let’s get started.
Boston Red Sox All-Star No. 5: J.D. Martinez
It speaks volumes to the caliber of All-Stars the Red Sox have that Martinez is the least important of the group, but that’s where things stand. J.D. Martinez came out on fire to start the season, and basically surpassed most of his totals from the entirety of last season in only the first month of this season.
His pace from April has slowed down, and he was rightfully overlooked for Los Angeles Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani in the Designated Hitter voting, but Martinez’s turnaround has been huge this season. Let’s compare his numbers for last season to this to get the full story.
2020 season: .213 BA, 7 HR, 27 RBI, .680 OPS
2021 season: .303 BA, 17 HR, 56 RBI, .920 OPS
As you can see, this has been a marked improvement from what we saw last season. Martinez was pretty much unplayable last season, as he wasn’t hitting, and he offers very little in the field. But he quickly brushed aside his lost 2020 season, and has returned to his form from his first two seasons with the Sox.
After a bit of a lull midway through the first half, Martinez has picked things up lately, hitting three home runs over his last seven games. Martinez should be able to keep hitting at around a .300 clip, and is a safe bet to reach the 30 home run threshold assuming he stays healthy. The Sox lineup has mashed all season long, and a big reason for that is the return of J.D. Martinez.
Boston Red Sox All-Star No. 4: Matt Barnes
The Boston Red Sox bullpen was one of the worst areas on an already awful team in 2020, but they have experienced a major resurgence this season, and a big reason for that is Matt Barnes.
Barnes was handed the closer role last season, and wasn’t anything to write home about. When it was announced that he was set to retain his closer role this season, fans were expectedly skeptical about how he would handle the role.
All Barnes has done this season is mow down hitters though, and has turned himself into one of the best closers in the game. For his entire career, it felt like Barnes could just never put all the pieces together, and would trade stretches where he was un-hittable with ones where lineups couldn’t see enough of him.
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But it’s all come together this season. Barnes has been much more aggressive, attacking hitters with his high 90’s fastball early and often in the count. Not to mention he has a wipeout curveball that has been breaking hitters backs the entire season. Put that together and you have the new and improved Matt Barnes.
There are still some flaws in Barnes pitching. He’s already blown four saves on the season, and has remained susceptible to an untimely home run every once in awhile. But Boston desperately needed someone to step up at the backend of the bullpen, and Barnes has been that guy for the Sox this season.
Barnes falls lower on this list in part to the entire performance on the bullpen. While he has been spectacular, so has the rest of the pen for the most part. But without Barnes at the back, everything falls apart (for example, their recent 7-6 extra innings loss to the Oakland Athletics), and he is more than deserving of his first All-Star nod.
Boston Red Sox All-Star No. 3: Nathan Eovaldi
Boston Red Sox fans have long known about the potential Nathan Eovaldi has, as his 2018 playoff run was one of the most dominant postseason stretches Boston has seen. The problem with him has always been staying healthy.
But Eovaldi has stayed healthy for the entire first half of the season, and turned it into his first All-Star berth.
Eovaldi was actually rather effective when he was pitching last season, as he managed a 4-2 record on a team that only won 24 games last season. With not much changing with the rotation from last season though, fans were skeptical in believing that things would be any different from last season.
But the Sox rotation has been phenomenal all season long, and Eovaldi has been right there leading the way the entire time. Eovaldi has posted a 9-4 record, along with a 3.41 ERA, which is the lowest among the Sox starters. With Chris Sale on the mend for the start of the season, Eovaldi has done a great job holding down the fort until his return later this season.
Without the rotations help, the Sox would certainly not find themselves in the position they are in today. Even amid the rotations recent struggles, Eovaldi has remained as the most consistent option Boston has. The MLB’s crackdown on sticky substances could have derailed Eovaldi’s momentum, but it appears it’s only made him better, as he is in the midst of one of his best stretches of the season.
Despite being thrust into a role many thought he wasn’t ready for, Eovaldi has stepped up and become one of the top pitchers in the league. The rotation has been superb, but Eovaldi has been the anchor holding them down the entire time. Without his guiding presence, this rotation would be in shambles, and he is more than deserving of his first All-Star nod.
Boston Red Sox All-Star No. 2: Xander Bogaerts
For basically his entire career, Xander Bogaerts has been overlooked by the rest of the league.
Competing with guys like Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor, it always felt like Bogaerts never got his fair consideration as one of the top shortstops in the game. That ended this season, as Bogaerts has been running laps around not only his fellow shortstops, but the vast majority on the majors as well.
Bogaerts continues to be one of the best all around hitters in the game. He appears to have traded some of his power for contact, as his .326 batting average would be the highest of his career. He has only hit 13 home runs just two seasons after mashing 33, but it has not affected his productivity whatsoever.
Bogaerts fielding still remains pretty much league average, as he’s already committed seven errors on the season. But his overall steady presence in the field has been key for the Sox infield all season. Aside from him, it’s been pretty much a rotating door of players all around him, so having that one constant night in and night out has been huge for a Boston team that just isn’t that good at fielding.
It’s been a blast to watch Bogaerts develop into one of the top players in the game. It feels like just yesterday he was a top prospect called up at the end of 2013 and helped the Sox nab a World Series ring. Fast forward to today, and he has fully reached his potential as the top shortstop in the game.
Bogaerts is the heart and soul of the team, and the only reason he isn’t the most important All-Star is because of how good the top player has been. But that shouldn’t take away from Bogaerts accomplishments. In a crowded field of shortstops in today’s game, Bogaerts has finally emerged as the best of them all.
Boston Red Sox All-Star No. 1: Rafael Devers
What a season it’s been for Rafael Devers. After a rough 2020 season, Devers has bounced back in a big way, and seems set to shatter the expectations set for him at the beginning of the season. In a season where Boston’s lineup has been on fire, Devers has very clearly been the best hitter they have.
It seemed like Devers had finally had his breakout season in 2019 when he mashed 32 home runs, drove in 115 runs, and batted .311. But it seems like that might not even be his full potential. Devers is already up to 20 home runs and 68 RBI’s, all while batting a solid .285.
To put it lightly, Devers is simply an extra base machine. He has 25 doubles on the season as well, which is tied for tops in the league with his fellow teammate Bogaerts. For what it’s worth, in 2019 Devers had a total of 90 extra base hits. He’s already at 56 this season, and it would be surprising if he ended up not breaking that mark by the season’s end.
The one big issue with Devers is his fielding. He’s already committed an absurd 12 errors at third base, and just never seems fully comfortable at the position. Maybe switching his position down the line is an option, but that’s a conversation for a different time.
All in all, Devers has been the most important Boston Red Sox player this season, even with his fielding woes. He’s a constant source of run production, and always seems to find his way on base. We thought we were witnessing his breakout season two years ago, but it seems like that was only a glimpse of what he could do. If he keeps this up, Rafael Devers may very well be on his way to becoming to the top third baseman in the MLB.