The Boston Red Sox are quietly building something special this season, and the rest of the MLB might not see it coming. After a sluggish start, the team is beginning to look like the contender fans hoped for when the front office made aggressive offseason moves.
Boston's winter was all about upgrading the rotation. They added Johan Oviedo, Sonny Gray, and signed Ranger Suárez—a clear signal that pitching was the priority. While Oviedo landed on the Injured List and didn't crack the rotation out of camp (thanks to the emergence of Connelly Early), the depth is paying off. The Red Sox have built this team around pitching and defense, and both are finally clicking. Defensively, they rank third in baseball with 15 outs above average—a massive turnaround after a few rough years in the field.
The rotation struggled early, but the tide is turning fast. Connelly Early threw seven shutout innings Friday night to cool off the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays. Sonny Gray followed with five scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday. Brayan Bello worked seven innings behind an opener on Tuesday, allowing just one run. And on Monday, Payton Tolle tossed seven innings without giving up an earned run. With Suárez healthy and Garrett Crochet expected back soon, this rotation is trending up in a big way.
Over the last 15 days, Boston's team ERA sits at 3.34. In the last seven days, it's dropped to 2.95. That's the kind of dominant stretch that can change a season.
The offense is starting to wake up, too. Before Friday's game, Boston had scored four or more runs in four straight games—a season-high. Even when the bats went quiet Friday, the pitching and defense carried them to a 2-0 win. And here's the scary part: they're doing this without top prospect Roman Anthony, who should return next week.
Since interim manager Chad Tracy took over, the "Chad Sox" are 7-5. At 17-22, Boston now has the same number of wins as the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles. This team is turning a corner, and when they get hot, the rest of the league better be ready.