The new Red Sox celebration that said a lot

There wasn't much about the Red Sox's 5-2 win over the Angels on Monday that took anyone by surprise.

It simply seemed like a matter of the Sox taking care of business against a team that has now lost 12 of its last 14 games and has emerged as perhaps the worst offensive team in baseball. There were home runs from Jarren Duran and Adley Rutschman. Brayan Bello resurfaced as a starting pitcher, pitching five shutout innings. And, after it was all said and done, Chad Tracy's team is now 15 games over .500 for the first time this season, landing with the exact same record through 145 games as a year ago (80-65).

But then came the final out from Garrett Whitlock and something did, indeed, seem different.

While there were the usual get-togethers by the outfielders and infielders, just outside the Red Sox dugout, a group of five players gathered to form a circle, put their arms around each other and do a little dance. Nick Sogard. Andruw Monasterio. Connor Wong. Nate Eaton. And the creator of the brief celebration, Jahmai Jones. For just a few seconds, they were all in their own little world.

It was a quaint and quick visual that undoubtedly reinforced the club's togetherness. But it really signaled something more.

Little did anyone realize, but this was a punctuation to where the Red Sox have landed when it comes to roster construction and how the pieces are fitting at just the right time. Let Jones explain:

"I think because we do so many matchups and we do so much replacing of guys, whether it's like defensively, offensively," the outfielder told WEEI.com. "There's just a lot of weapons on this team. So, the guys on who don't start the game, we all kind of joked around, like, you know, if we don't get used and we win. That means you know we killed it, and just became kind of like a little mini celebration as a joke," explained the outfielder.

"It means that our guys that started the game were killing it. Yeah, and then there's just so many things that happen when we're doing that. That means we're just doing a lot of things right as an offense, as a defense, pitching staff."

It wasn't the first time the Red Sox have executed the celebratory circle, but there is a reason few knew about it. The opportunity to break it out has been rare, with Tracy riding with his starting nine the whole way just three times in the last 19 games - wins over the Giants (Aug. 21), Yankees (Aug. 29) and Orioles (Sept. 5).

It is a sign that all systems are a go, as it certainly seemed Monday against the Angels. But the rarity of the celebration is also a testament to how there isn't the roster construction awkwardness of early in the season.

Jones is the weapon against lefty pitching. Eli White can also protect the Red Sox in the outfield vs. southpaws while serving as a very viable pinch-runner. Sogard is at the ready to play four different infield positions. Connor Wong has allowed for Rutschman to get right while capably manning the catching position. And Monasterio (or, perhaps in the future Romy Gonzalez) represents capable at-bats while serving as the fail-safe for Trevor Story.

It is a dynamic that has allowed Tracy to ride hot hands and not fret when the likes of Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela get right physically on the injured list.

The Red Sox are the best pinch-hitting team in the American League (.760 OPS), with Jones and White each possessing an OPS of over 1.000 in such situations. They also have the third-best OPS of any team in close and late situations. Both are signs that the roster bobbing and weaving has generally worked.

It's why few knew about this five-player postgame dance. And that's not a bad thing.