ESPN Gave Red Sox This Letter Grade For First-Half Performance

The Boston Red Sox entered Major League Baseball's All-Star break on a high note after winning eight of their last nine games before the Midsummer Classic.

And while Boston still sits in fourth place in the American League East, an aspect manager Alex Cora made sure to not to overlook, the Red Sox nevertheless have plenty of positives to reflect on.

Those positives are why ESPN's David Schoenfield gave the Red Sox a "B" for their first half of the season, doing so Wednesday in a story where he graded out all 30 MLB teams.

From Schoenfield:

Are the Red Sox what we thought there were going to be?

Pretty much: good offense and mediocre starting pitching that has battled injuries (exactly as one might have predicted). They were shuffling along at .500 and seemingly going nowhere until they won eight of nine heading into the break to climb five games over .500 and sit just two games out of a wild-card spot.

For all the criticism thrown at ownership and the front office the past two seasons, the Red Sox are building around a fun new group of players to go alongside Rafael Devers: Jarren Duran suddenly looks like a good player, hitting .320 and lining doubles all over the place; Brayan Bello has been solid in the rotation; Masataka Yoshida, coming over from Japan, has been an on-base machine; Triston Casas has improved each month even if he hasn't made the same impact; and James Paxton is healthy (!) and just won AL Pitcher of the Month in June. How the Red Sox fare the next two weeks will determine whether he can be a valuable trade or they keep him and make a run for the AL Wild Card Series.

Only seven MLB teams received a grade higher than Boston's "B." Seven other teams received a grade of "D" or worse, with the rival New York Yankees being given a "C."

The aforementioned contributions from Duran, Bello, Yoshida and others certainly have played a major role for the Red Sox. And so, too, have the performances of veteran Justin Turner, who's filled in at both first base and third base in addition to his expected designated hitter role, and Alex Verdugo, who Cora believed was worthy of All-Star consideration.

Simply put, Boston has received contributions from many in its lineup.

 "We're playing good baseball," Cora told reporters after Sunday's series-sweeping win over the Oakland Athletics. "I think offensively there's a lot of guys doing a lot of good things now."

Now, it's up to the group to continue to do so as it inches closer to the Aug. 2 trade deadline -- and potentially the postseason.