Red Sox Report Card: Strong first-half grades for surprising squad originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The idea of undertaking a midseason Red Sox report card would’ve felt pointless on Opening Day. Why wallow in more failure?
But something surprising happened on the road to irrelevance. The Red Sox exceeded everyone’s expectations, including those of ownership, and now they’re worth grading.
So let’s dive right in and give a number of high marks to a club that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. (Note: Players graded have a minimum of 100 plate appearances or 20 innings pitched and are listed in alphabetical order by last name.)
If not for a freak accident falling down the dugout steps, Abreu might’ve been an A-minus. As it is, his season can be broken down into three discrete sections: a slow start, a monster May, and a post-injury period that’s finally ticking back up.
When Abreu is locked in, he hits ’em as far as anyone on the roster. Add plus defensive skills in right field, and he makes Chaim Bloom’s Christian Vazquez trade a clear winner.
Anderson has a job and he does it well. Only Kenley Jansen has finished more games than Anderson’s 20 on the staff, but for entirely different reasons. Jansen closes wins. Anderson wraps up blowout losses, often two or three innings at a time.
The Red Sox have lost 17 of his 23 appearances, but every inning he throws up or down four runs is one that a higher-leverage reliever can avoid. There’s value in that.
On the one hand, this feels like a low grade for someone who technically leads the team in wins (10). On the other hand, amidst a staff of overachievers, Bello stands out as the one hurler not meeting expectations.
His 5.32 ERA ranks dead last on this list, and it’s not like it’s the result of one or two poor starts. Of particular concern has been his inability to keep bad innings in check. Once things go south, they stay that way. The good news is he has the second half to fix this.
If the Red Sox could do it again, they’d have taken Bernardino with them out of camp. Instead, they dinked around with fellow left-hander Joely Rodriguez, who blew the third game of the season and posted a 6.55 ERA before being demoted.
Bernardino pitches with guts, as anyone who saw him overcome a pair of 3-0 counts vs. the Royals on Sunday can attest, and his 1.69 ERA speaks to his usefulness.
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