The Boston Red Sox are 12-3 in their last 15 games, they're tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the third spot in the AL East, and they're just 2.5 games back of the AL Wild Card spot. And on Friday, they're going to kick off a three-game series against the New York Mets, who are 40-54 and own the fifth-worst record in the majors.
Yet, the All-Star break couldn't be happening at a better time for them.
The Red Sox are dealing with a plethora of injuries
Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony have been out of action for months, and nobody knows if we're going to see them back at any point for the rest of the season. But that's not the end of it.
Ranger Suarez was just placed on the 15-day IL due to a groin injury. Willson Contreras (who is technically suspended for five games now anyway) left Boston's win against the Chicago White Sox early on Jul. 8 after hitting a ball off his foot. Connelly Early was placed on the 15-day IL on Jul. 1 due to elbow inflammation.
And that's not even including guys like Trevor Story, Marcelo Mayer, Nick Sogard, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who have all been on the shelf for some time and have no concrete timetable for their returns.
The All-Star break should give the Red Sox some time to get healthy and get closer to full strength for a second-half push.
Boston may be buyers at the trade deadline this year
One post-All-Star break narrative that will be worth monitoring is what the Red Sox end up doing at the trade deadline.
About a month ago, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that they would be sellers and move off of players like Aroldis Chapman, Sonny Gray, and maybe even Jarren Duran to just punt the rest of the season, focus on development, and try again next year. But the Red Sox are finding their groove, and maybe it wouldn't be a stretch for them to actually go for it this year.
There is still a lot of baseball left, but Boston is making some noise. Their pitching staff has been among the best in the majors all season long, and now their bats are starting to catch up. On the surface, it seems like it could just be a hot streak since they don't look like a great team on paper, but it's a big enough sample size at this point to think the tides are finally turning.
The Red Sox still have some needs they can address (especially their need for a legitimate power bat), but they have done a great job of finding their groove. And maybe they deserve to see things through this season.
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