The Boston Red Sox started the season as one of the worst offensive teams in the MLB, but they have greatly turned it around in recent weeks. And the scariest part is that they're doing it all without Roman Anthony (who most would consider to be Boston's best all-around hitter), who has been out of action since May 4th due to a wrist/hand/finger injury.
The Red Sox' offensive turnaround might be legit
Since Boston lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-0, on Apr. 28th, it hasn't been shut out a single time, and its offense is finally looking like an actual unit.
Since May 18th (the first game of the Red Sox' three-game sweep against the Kansas City Royals), they rank third in the MLB in hits (144), first in triples (8), eighth in doubles (29), T-13th in runs (74), ninth-best in strikeouts (117), and first in BA (.293), according to FanGraphs.com, in 14 games.
Boston has also gotten a lot of good individual play during that span (just to name a few: Willson Contreras: .408 BA, 2 HR, 8 RBIs - Jarren Duran: .317 BA, 6 HR, 15 RBIs - Ceddanne Rafaela: .296 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBIs - Mickey Gasper: .333 BA, 3 RBIs - Isiah Kiner-Falefa: .385 BA, 1 HR, 8 RBIs).
This Red Sox offense is still far from elite (they still haven't filled the void left by Rafael Devers, who was a legit power hitter, after they traded him to the San Francisco Giants last year), but they're clearly trending in the right direction. And if they can keep this up once Anthony makes his return, then things might actually be looking up in Boston.
The Red Sox might still make a trade to bolster their lineup
In a recent episode of the "Just Baseball" podcast, ESPN's Buster Olney said the Red Sox are "aggressively" pursuing a right-handed hitter ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
“What I’ve heard today is… [the Red Sox] are aggressively looking for a right-handed hitter and signaling to the industry, look, we’re willing to take on money," Olney said.
Whether anything will actually come to fruition for the Red Sox or not is a completely different story, but in the midst of a bad season after years of poor or controversial decisions and having an owner and general manager that the fans want nothing to do with, it's still a welcoming sign that the team might genuinely be looking to make the team better for a potential playoff run.
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