Regardless of the direction this season ultimately goes for the Red Sox, there are a handful of positives to take from the season.
The 2023 campaign has offered signs of an emergence of a new core. Brayan Bello looks like a top-of-the-rotation arm, and Masataka Yoshida is proving to be the real deal. Triston Casas has found his footing in the majors, and so too has Jarren Duran.
Ultimately though, those are higher-end prospects and additions meeting expectations. The fact that the Red Sox are even in the hunt right now is thanks to the players on the margins who have vastly outperformed their roles.
Pablo Reyes, who arrived in Boston via trade after spending the beginning year in Triple-A, has quickly emerged as a potential everyday player. That’s quite the jump for someone who hadn’t cracked the woeful A’s roster and was brought in as a stopgap amid a slew of injuries.
There’s Josh Winckowski, who has been wire-to-wire one of the most reliable relievers in the bullpen after starting as a bulk middle innings guy. Brennan Bernardino has been a quality lefty specialist and has pitched in a variety of situations, doing so effectively after being on basically no one’s radar before the season. With Joely Rodriguez struggling to stay healthy this season, Bernardino’s effectiveness has been key.
Sox manager Alex Cora pointed to that trio as his unsung heroes during his weekly appearance on Gresh & Fauria.
“Bernie, Bernardino, nobody thought that he was going to be a part of the bullpen, nobody thought that he was going to be our situational lefty,” Cora said. “He’s been great for us. He has opened games, come late in the game, in the middle of it and he’s been outstanding.
“The other one, Pablo Reyes, right? Pablo was with the A’s in Triple-A, not playing much, and the front office – at that point we got hurt really quick up the middle, I think it was Arroyo and Yu Chang, and they recognized Pablo as a right-handed hitter that can hit lefties. He can play multiple positions, he’s a good defender, and he’s been amazing and he’s playing everyday for us.
“And coming into the season, we didn’t expect Winckowski to become this guy. He was going to be more like a multi-inning reliever in certain situations, kind of keep him stretched out if something happened in the rotation, he was going to jump right in. He has become a guy, a dude in the bullpen. Little by little, you’ve seen the change of his role, right? Early on it was multiple innings, now it’s one inning, pedal to the metal throwing 98, 99, and giving us a chance to win.”
“So those three guys, there are others obviously, Connor Wong has been amazing, but guys that we didn’t expect to be part of this and be a huge part of what we’re trying to accomplish -- those three have been amazing.”
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