The week was an eventful one for the Boston Red Sox, beginning with the promotion of highly regarded prospect Roman Anthony and culminating in the surprising trade of slugger Rafael Devers. Amid these changes, the team managed a clean sweep of their arch-rivals, the New York Yankees.
Boston’s performance was commendable, as they took two of three games against the Tampa Bay Rays, who are sitting in second place, followed by sweeping the first-place Yankees to rise above the .500 mark in the standings. Notably, the Red Sox excelled in clutch situations, winning three consecutive one-run games.
This sequence of victories hinted at a possible turnaround for a team that has grappled with consistency since parting ways with Mookie Betts in 2019. However, with Devers now traded to San Francisco, this marks a new chapter in Boston’s roster transformation. Devers had inked what was supposed to be a long-term deal in 2023, leading many to believe he would serve as a franchise cornerstone. Nevertheless, as tensions rose and questions emerged regarding his role following the acquisition of Alex Bregman, the trade was finalized.
Moving forward, the Red Sox will have to navigate the absence of Devers along with injuries to Bregman and fellow infielder Tristan Casas. Recently, the team has shown offensive prowess by scoring eight or more runs in four out of five games but has also displayed pitching resilience by limiting opponents to one or fewer runs in three of their next five games.
Roman Anthony has been thrust into the spotlight as baseball’s top prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Drafted 79th overall in 2022, Anthony had been performing well at Triple-A Worcester with a .914 OPS when called up. Despite a rough start, going 1 for 17 at the plate, he faces added pressure to perform amid Boston’s recent struggles to find stable footing since the Betts trade in 2019.
Elsewhere, MLB Pipeline’s current No. 2 prospect is right-hander Bubba Chandler of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Drafted 72nd in 2021, Chandler is showing promise with a 2.63 ERA across 13 starts at Triple-A Indianapolis. Despite the excitement surrounding him, with the Pirates languishing 15 games below .500 and low offensive output, it remains doubtful whether he can single-handedly engineer a turnaround.
Trivia tidbit: Since Rafael Devers commenced his MLB career in 2017, he leads the Red Sox with 215 home runs. Interestingly, giants like Mookie Betts, who appeared for only three Boston seasons, still hold fourth place with 85 homers on that list.
The Atlanta Braves benefited from an impressive outing by Spencer Strider, who struck out 13 across six scoreless innings in their 4-1 triumph over the Colorado Rockies, although the team remains eight games under .500.
In remarkable fashion, the Arizona Diamondbacks mounted an exhilarating comeback against the San Diego Padres. Trailing in the ninth, they surged with five runs, clinching victory through Geraldo Perdomo’s clutch three-run triple and a decisive grounder from Josh Naylor. At their peak, the Padres had a 98.7% win probability in that inning.
Trivia answer: Since 2017, J.D. Martinez has hit 130 homers for the Red Sox, placing him second on their list, followed by Xander Bogaerts with 115.