Red Sox Report Cards: Team Grades for July

As the calendar turned to July and the Boston Red Sox boarded a plane heading west to Anaheim, fresh off a series loss at home to the Washington Nationals where they were outscored 18-3 in the final two games, it felt like everyone was ready to pull the plug. The Sox found themselves 11 games under .500, 14.5 games back in the AL East, and 6.5 games out of the third Wild Card spot needing to jump six teams to even sniff a postseason berth. The task seemed daunting and borderline impossible to say the least, but as the age-old saying goes; the rest is history.

All Boston proceeded to do since was go on one of, if not the best, runs the club and MLB have ever seen; one that included a 15-game win streak, an .840 win percentage which was the best for a month in franchise history. They became the first team in MLB history to enter a calendar month 10+ games under .500 and leave it 7+ games over .500 via ESPN’s Sarah Langs. Likewise, they became the first team in MLB history to in one month win 20+ games, have a 15+ game winning streak, have 10+ comeback victories, sweep a 9+ game road trip, and have a .900+ road win percentage via OptaStats on X.   

For a more in-depth look at what has led to the Red Sox’s historic turnaround, let’s dive in to how the offense, rotation, and bullpen graded out for July.

Grading Every Red Sox Player In July

Offense

For months, it’s been well documented that if the Red Sox were to make any noise this season, let alone turn this thing around, it was going to have to be the offense that, outside of Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras, and Ceddanne Rafaela, needed to start pulling its weight. July saw just that, as Boston’s offense finished within the top-10 league wide in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, wRC+, BABIP, BB%, Runs, Home Runs, Hits, Doubles, WAR, and AVG with RISP w/2 Outs. In other words, it was by far the team's best performance of the season. 

Perhaps the most surprising, and arguably refreshing, of all of the top-10 finishing stats came from the change in approach at the plate. The Sox ended July first in all of baseball in Sac Bunts with 13, an astonishing note when you realize they had 11 for the entire season prior to. This new “Next Man Up” approach and mentality the team took on not only allowed for the likes of Willson Contreras (1.117 OPS, 208 wRC+, 5 HR, 14 RBI) and Ceddanne Rafaela (.303/.321/.523/.844, 5 HR, 19 RBI) to continue their stellar seasons, but also allowed for the emergence of heroes new and old.

If you were to pick an offensive MVP for the month and had to exclude Contreras and Rafaela, the favorite has to be Andruw Monasterio, who has had some hiccups in the field filling in as the full-time shortstop after Tsung-Che Cheng was optioned back to Worcester. And yet, he continued to come up with clutch hit after clutch hit in July, slashing .338/.413/.631/.1.044 with 12 of his 22 hits going for extra bases while also driving in 11. Some love should be thrown Cheng’s way as well while highlighting standout performances, as he managed to accumulate a .740 OPS and 115 wRC+ in just nine games while also making a few game saving plays at short during Boston’s historic 15-game win streak. 

July also saw Caleb Durbin continue to put his early season struggles behind him as he has quickly become one of the Red Sox's most well-rounded players, finishing the month with an .802 OPS, three homers, and nine runs batted in while factoring in stellar defense at third. Masataka Yoshida once again has started to make his usual second half push after slashing .300/.364/.450/.814 with two home runs and nine runs batted in, providing some stability to the top of Boston’s lineup. And even newcomer Jahmai Jones, whose addition seemed to be heavily questioned when he was brought in from the Tigers, has provided an immediate spark, homering in his first at-bat as a Red Sox en route to a 1.467 OPS and 244 wRC+ to go along with two home runs and five RBI in just nine games. 

As we move into August, the hope is the offense can continue to succeed with this more small-ball approach. Losing Curtis Mead to a fractured wrist after just two at-bats certainly doesn't help, though Adley Rutschman should provide a huge jolt when healthy. Getting Wilyer Abreu (90 wRC+) and Jarren Duran (40 wRC+) back on track wouldn’t hurt either. In what was a stunning and unprecedented turnaround that nobody could have foreseen happening, Boston’s offense gets its best grade of the season thus far, a well-deserved A-. 

Rotation

If you were to tell me early this season the Red Sox were going to go on an epic win streak that helped save their season and turn them into one of the most dangerous teams in baseball, there's no doubt I would have guessed the rotation had done its best Superman impression. And yet, while this turn through the rotation wasn’t bad by any means, it wasn’t as dominant as we’ve seen in past stretches either, leading to somewhat of a mixed bag of results.

Boston’s best starter by far for July may have been its least likeliest, as rookie Jake Bennett burst onto the scene to the tune of a 4-1 record, 2.20 ERA, and .208 average against over a team high 32.2 innings pitched. The same cannot be said about fellow rookie Payton Tolle however, as although his strikeout numbers were still impressive, leading the rotation with a 32.7 K% in 23.2 innings, a six-run blow up over three innings versus the Nationals, a four-run outing over 5.2 against the Orioles, and a shortened 3.2 innings outing against the Mets stemming from an innings limit left Tolle with an uncharacteristically high 4.94 ERA for the month.

As for the veterans, Sox fans got their long-awaited look at Patrick Sandoval for the first time, who put up a respectable 3.32 ERA over four starts, but is clearly being eased back into things given his just 19 innings of work. Ranger Suarez was limited to just three starts and 11.1 innings due to a groin strain, finishing with a below-average 4.76 ERA but elite 1.33 FIP. Then there’s the 36-year old Sonny Gray who may be starting to show his age a bit. While his first three starts of July against the Angels, Mets and Rays were excellent, posting a 1.50 ERA while allowing just three earned runs and 14 hits over 18 innings, his final two against the Blue Jays and Athletics were anything but. In those starts, Gray posted a 6.75 ERA over 12 innings, allowing 17 hits and nine earned runs. 

Add in three rough appearances for Eduardo Rivera (9.45 ERA on 6.2 IP) and the numbers don’t look as great as they have prior on paper. It will be interesting to see how the Red Sox handle the rotation going forward with some clear signs of possible fatigue starting to set in. For now though, the rotation still grades out at a respectable B+.

Bullpen

Much like the offense, I was hard-pressed to find anything the Red Sox bullpen really struggled with for July, leading to top-10 finishes league wide in every statistical category except for strikeouts, where they finished 11th. Of those standout categories were the ones the Sox's 'pen lead all of baseball in, including a 1.75 ERA, 2.94 FIP, 89.2 LOB%, 13 Saves, and 2.1 WAR.

The story starts with the fact that the Red Sox have assembled a four-headed behemoth of Tyron Guerrero, Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, and Aroldis Chapman that all spell certain doom for any team having to face them in the later innings. While Guerrero (0.87 ERA, .211 AVG, 5.0 BB%), Whitlock (0.73 ERA, .147 AVG, 0.0 BB%) and Chapman (0.75 ERA, .209 AVG, 34.7 K%) all picked up where their dominance left off in June, the biggest boost to the pen came in Slaten once again finding his nasty side, racking up a 1.08 ERA and .161 average against in 8.1 innings after posting marks of 9.00 and .415 in nine innings in June. 

July also not only saw the returns to form of Jovani Moran (2.38 ERA, .154 AVG, 11.1 IP) and Greg Weissert, who outside of one three-run blow up versus Toronto managed to have nine scoreless appearances out of his 11 for the month, but the return of Brayan Bello to the big-league club. This time fully working as a reliever, Bello picked up right where he left off in terms of confusing fans and overpowering hitters tossing 13.2 innings out of the 'pen to the results of a 1-0 record, 0.66 ERA and .191 average against in three appearances.

While there may be some signs of possible fatigue or slippage in the rotation, the same cannot be said about Boston’s bullpen that only seems to be growing stronger as the season moves forward. With all parties quite literally firing on all cylinders, the Sox's pen earns its best grade of the season by far with a resounding A+.