Three Red Sox Players Who Need To Step Up During Final Playoff Push

With just 12 games and four series remaining in the regular season for the Boston Red Sox, it’s officially crunch time. They enter play on Tuesday one game behind the New York Yankees for the top wild card spot in the American League and a 91.4% chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs.

The Red Sox haven’t clinched a postseason berth yet, however, so they still have some work to do over the next two weeks. They’ve struggled since Roman Anthony went down with an oblique injury in early September, going 4-6 without him, so several players need to step up in his absence if Boston wants to secure its first playoff appearance since 2021.

One is Alex Bregman, who was the team’s MVP during the first two months of the season but hasn’t been the same since returning from the injured list in July. He’s hitting .256/.335/.397 with six home runs and 24 RBI over his last 53 games, so the Red Sox could use some more power and run production from him in the middle of the lineup.

Jarren Duran’s another one. He’s been a bit of a letdown compared to last season, especially lately. The former All-Star is batting just .235/.335/.412 since the beginning of August but has shown flashes of greatness this year, so Boston could really use him to turn it on over the next two weeks.

Lastly, the Red Sox desperately need more from Masataka Yoshida. As a full-time DH, he’s getting paid $18.6 million this year just to hit, but he hasn’t done that yet. Granted, he spent half the season on the injured list, but he’s slashing .236/.285/.333 with only two home runs, 17 RBI and -0.3 WAR in 44 games. Boston needs him to get going and give the lineup a boost.

The Red Sox’s pitching staff has exceeded expectations this year, but the offense has faltered without Anthony, averaging just 4.1 runs per game since he got hurt. Someone needs to step up and carry the lineup, and the team’s veteran hitters seem like the best candidates.