Life comes at you fast. The Red Sox, in the midst of a five-game win streak, remain deep under .500. And in a world in which the owners hadn’t spent the last 20 years devaluing the regular season in a blatant attempt to increase postseason revenue and justify slashing payroll, a team in the Red Sox’ position wouldn’t have any playoff hopes today. But this is 2026, and it’s legitimately possible that the American League’s third Wild Card could be swiped by a team that doesn’t even reach the .500 mark. (Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic)
Thus, the Red Sox, who looked dead and buried one week ago today, are now being called potential buyers at the trade deadline. Their biggest need is obvious: middle infield help. (Mark Feinsand, MLB.com)
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Right now the middle infield help is coming in the form of Anthony Seigler, who has started at second base for 10 games in a row. Seigler has bounced back and forth between AAA and the big leagues throughout his young career. What helped him get back to the majors this time was resuming something he’d quit before: switch hitting. (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
We know where they certainly don’t need help: the starting rotation. Red Sox starters have now thrown 12 straight quality starts, two shy of the club record set in 1988. “They’ve been phenomenal,” said Chad Tracy. “It’s very similar to my initial time here when we weren’t playing that well, but the starting pitching was so good that you always felt like you were going to look up in the sixth inning and think, ‘We’ve got a chance to win this game.’ I don’t think there’s too many managers who wouldn’t sign up for that.” (Sean McAdam, MassLive)
All the starters have contributed, but Payton Tolle in particular has been a big part of the streak. In fact, he now has teammates publicly lobbying to get him to the All-Star Game. “Just being in that conversation is amazing, but that’s kind of far out of mind for me,” he said. “I guess it doesn’t mean anything until it actually happens.” (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
Unfortunately, Garrett Crochet won’t be getting a second straight All-Star nod, and he continues to be frustrated by the mysteriously slow rehab process for what was initially thought to be a minor injury. While everyone involved still says there are no structural issues, they are now looking to last year to explain the injury. “I was still kind of experiencing that hangover from last year, and once I started throwing again, maybe my mechanics just weren’t in a great spot,” said Crochet. “And then as the buildup occurred, that just continued to get further from the norm.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
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But the Sox could be getting back another couple of lefty pitchers soon. Jovani Moran will make another rehab appearance tomorrow and then potentially rejoin the big league bullpen. Patrick Sandoval has one more rehab start scheduled and will be reassessed by July 4, when his 30-day rehab clock expires. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
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