Three Reasons Red Sox Can Still Make Playoffs Despite Slow Start

The Boston Red Sox didn’t get off on the right foot this season, drowning them in the American League East standings up until the All-Star break. However, they’re still not to be counted out.

While reaching the playoffs being a last-place team sounds like a far-fetched goal, that’s not exactly the case for the 2023 Red Sox. They’re only two games back in the Wild Card race, three wins shy of third place in the East and they haven’t even fielded a fully healthy roster yet. And that’s just the start of reasons to remain optimistic before the second half kicks off.

Here are three more:

1.) The schedule hits a favorable stretch coming out of the All-Star break
The Red Sox entered the break on a strong note, riding a five-game winning streak while losing just one of their last nine games to break out the teeter-totter .500 trend and into a 48-43 record.

They’ve proven to be capable of handling business within the division, winning 12-of-13 contests versus the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Yet, being that the division will get hungrier as the season approaches its end, Boston could build some valuable ground in the coming weeks.

Boston has a nine-game stretch facing bottom-tier competition — Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and New York Mets — before hosting the red-hot Atlanta Braves and then heading out West to face the mediocre San Francisco Giants, who lead all of baseball with 64 errors. That creates a golden opportunity for the Red Sox to climb up the standings and put a few division foes beneath them.

That’s 12 of 15 games facing subpar opponents who are quickly booking themselves for a playoff miss.

Then, in the opening week of August, the Red Sox face the Blue Jays, who they’ve gone unbeaten against in seven games, and then the Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals — all of which are below .500 — for 13 games.

2.) Boston can still explore the trade market before the deadline arrives
It’s still early, but not too early to ramp up the Red Sox trade talks, right?

The Red Sox have struggled to battle one major hurdle: the injured list. The pitching staff, defense and lineup have all been anchored by injuries to Chris Sale, Trevor Story, Tanner Houck and Corey Kluber among others.

Yet, with still time before the Aug. 1 deadline, Boston can lean on the below-average-performing squads across the league in order to gather an asset or two that’ll prove huge in uplifting the current roster. Having watched the blossoming of Brayan Bello and the darkhorse contributions of Josh Wincowski and Brennan Bernardino, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom could seek out a boost to reward how the team has handled its continuous adversity.

Considering the AL East race is tightening up, Boston will need to prepare for moves to come from its division foes while also considering what will best position the Red Sox to build and maintain some long-term momentum before October.

3.) Red Sox outfield is silencing the naysayers
Entering the new year fresh off a last-place finish in 2022, the Red Sox were doubted all across the board, but the outfield, in particular, has shined bright and has quietly kept the lineup intact.

Alex Verdugo, Masataka Yoshida and Jarren Duran have made for an outfield that’s exceeded the expectations of many, combining for a trio that’s taken a significant leap for Boston’s offense. And so far, there are no signs of either of the three slowing down anytime soon.

Verdugo was challenged by Red Sox manager Alex Cora in the offseason, which he’s responded to by hitting .290 with 26 doubles and 150 total bases. Cora even deemed Verdugo Boston’s “guy” as the 27-year-old finished the first half with a team-leading 57 runs scored.

Yoshida, who made the switch from Japan to MLB this offseason, inherited a chunk of hype after signing a reported $90 million deal with the Red Sox to become their go-to left fielder. And so far, so good. He’s leading the Red Sox in batting average (.316) and on-base percentage (.382) with 95 base hits, including 10 home runs and 19 doubles. Hitting streaks have quickly become a staple in Yoshida’s game as well, living up to the disciplined plate approach that he had in the Nippon Professional Baseball league.

Meanwhile, Duran has broken out as the team’s biggest surprise.

Failing to make the Opening Day roster, Duran got his chance in place for the then-injured Adam Duvall in mid-April — which the 26-year-old fled with. Duran has made stretching singles into doubles a staple in his game, sitting tied for third in the league lead with 27 while also hitting .320 and swiping a team-leading 17 bases.

If anything, these three have given the Red Sox their greatest sense of stability, responsible for the biggest chunk of hope with 71 games left to play.