Boston Red Sox ride AL-wide collapse to playoff contention
Against the backdrop of one of the weakest American League seasons on record, three games now separate a postseason berth from a club that fans at Fenway Park were demanding be sold just weeks ago. The Boston Red Sox, sitting at…
Key takeaways
- The Boston Red Sox sit at 42-48 as the league approaches the All-Star break, three games from an American League playoff spot.
- Boston's contention owes largely to a broad cycle of AL decline, with Detroit (42-50), Baltimore (42-51), and Oakland (41-51) posting similarly weak records in striking distance of a playoff berth.
- The Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora less than a month into the season and have played without ace Garrett Crochet, who is on the 60-day injured list.
- Aroldis Chapman has been the best closer in the AL, and Willson Contreras, 34, is on pace for an All-Star season.
- Boston's home record at Fenway Park is 17-27, a mark that would be disqualifying in most seasons.
Against the backdrop of one of the weakest American League seasons on record, three games now separate a postseason berth from a club that fans at Fenway Park were demanding be sold just weeks ago. The Boston Red Sox, sitting at 42-48 as the league approaches the All-Star break, are alive in the playoff race for reasons that owe as much to the broader cycle of AL decline as to anything that happened in Boston.
The Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora less than a month into the season. Ace Garrett Crochet, recently placed on the 60-day injured list, has not made a start in months. Star outfielder Roman Anthony missed most of the year with a finger injury that the club initially said would sideline him for only a few weeks. GM Craig Breslow was reportedly on the verge of dismissal, and the roster was being packaged for a deadline selloff.
What the standings show
Boston at 42-48. Detroit at 42-50. Baltimore at 42-51. Oakland at 41-51. All four clubs are in legitimate striking distance of an American League playoff spot, a bracket of records that would ordinarily belong to teams trending toward high draft picks. The broader cycle of AL mediocrity has rewritten that expectation across the conference.
The Red Sox are 17-27 at Fenway Park, a home record that would be disqualifying in most seasons. Here, it is a data point in a race that remains, improbably, open.
The deadline question
The club has rallied behind a pitching rotation that held together without Crochet, and Aroldis Chapman has been the best closer in the AL. Willson Contreras, 34 years old, is on pace for an All-Star season. Caleb Durbin, acquired last winter to replace Alex Bregman at third base, turned an abysmal start into one of the better stretches at the position in the league over the past month.
Breslow must now decide whether a 42-48 club warrants buying at the deadline. The argument for adding: the league is weak enough that this record may be sufficient to play in October, and the window may not stay this wide. The counterargument is that a roster missing its ace on the 60-day list may not hold through a postseason run, and aggressive deadline spending only delays the rebuild.
On balance, the Red Sox are 42-48 with Chapman in the bullpen and the deadline approaching. The faction arguing you grind through seasons to play in October has more to work with than usual. The faction arguing an inevitable ceiling exists has the home record at Fenway: 17-27.
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