All of a sudden, the Red Sox are contenders
It is early May. The path to the postseason still clearly remains somewhat murky for these Red Sox despite the current standings.
There is starting pitching to figure out. There needs to be some more certainty at a few positions. And the feel-good grit-and-guile that has this team riding a four-game win streak can do an about-face in a hurry.
But throughout an offseason of eye-rolling and close-but-no-cigar negotiations, we have landed at a place where credit needs to be distributed to the team's chief decision-maker, Chaim Bloom.
What many believed was a flawed team-building equation seems - at least for the moment - to make more sense than most anticipated.
Connor Wong. Josh Winckowski. Justin Turner. Masa Yoshida. Kenley Jansen. Reese McGuire. Enmanuel Valdez. And, of course, Alex Verdugo.
Great advice from Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio
Those were names Bloom wanted the fan base to believe in. But "trust the process" never goes down smooth, especially when turning the page on iconic players (Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts) while also weathering last-place finishes. But as Tuesday turned into Wednesday, a case could be made for each and every one of them that they were part of a solution that was perceived as a bunch of problems not too long ago.
Wong: Coming off the Red Sox' second straight win over the Blue Jays, this is an easy one for Bloom and Co. to pound their collective chest about. The catcher the Red Sox got in the Betts deal has officially seemed to be a find, with his four-hit, two-home run game Tuesday offering the latest example. But even if Wong's offensive output (.290 batting average, .869 OPS) takes a turn, this is a legitimate defensive weapon at a key position for the Red Sox. Proof? He currently holds the top WAR (1.0) for all players in baseball.
Winckowski: It took some time, and some subtle adjustments, one of the five players the Red Sox got for Andrew Benintendi has emerged as the best of the bunch. With Jansen down due to back issues, the righty continued to emerge as one of the team's most valuable players to date, earning his first career save. He has allowed just four earned runs in 22 1/3 innings on the way to becoming the high-leverage reliever the Red Sox desperately needed.
Turner: The numbers aren't eye-popping (.265 BA, .728 OPS) but ask anyone in that clubhouse who has had the most impact on the Red Sox' current way of life and there is a very good chance Turner's name is going to come up. In a day and age of players screaming for front office's to start valuing clubhouse presence more over analytics, in this case Bloom listened ... and it is paying off.
Yoshida: The outfielder's OPS has now crept up over .900 (.902), having presented the kind of best-case-scenario package the Red Sox were banking on. The notorious slow-starter didn't spend too long starting slow, rewarding the Red Sox with that somewhat-criticized financial faith relayed on the day Bogaerts agreed to his exit. Bloom's plan desperately needed foundation pieces, and it sure appears Yoshida might be one of those.
Jansen: The Red Sox had no idea the closer's stuff was going to tick up. And they also admittedly didn't realize the impact Jansen's veteran presence was going to have on this bullpen. But here we are. Back issues aside, the closer is exactly what the doctored ordered when it came to finding some certainty both on and off the field.
McGuire: He hit .337 with an .877 OPS in 36 games after being acquired for Jake Diekman last trade deadline. On the day Diekman was designated for assignment by the White Sox, McGuire is hitting .327 with a .761 OPS. He has also served as a perfect complement to Wong while the both find their way. Yes, it should be another feather in Bloom's cap.
Valdez: This one might be too early to tell, but all we have is what we have. And what we have is a player who was billed as a legitimate offensive threat who since arriving in the big leagues has been ... a legitimate offensive threat. In his seven major league games, Valdez - one of two players acquired for Christian Vazquez - has totaled a .917 OPS. Can he hold down second base defensively well enough to be counted on a semi-regular basis? That remains to be seen. But the rotation involving Valdez, Christian Arroyo and Kiké Hernandez seems to be working for the time being.
Verdugo: The Red Sox might have acquired an American League All-Star in the Betts deal. Stop and start. That should, alone, should elicit Bloom's biggest sigh of relief.