What is going on with the Red Sox? It seems as if a month ago, the Sox were competing for the division after beating the Yankees, and the team was on top of the wild card. October baseball seemed inevitable, Fenway was rocking and selling out every night, the offense looked great, and the team kept winning games and beating teams that, on paper, looked much better than them. 

Then, two key pieces of the team, Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu, went down with injuries. Some of the key players who helped the team stay in playoff contention went into major slumps. Alex Bregman, who was a major signing in the previous offseason, seemed like he couldn’t hit the ball in play, and then opted out of his contract as he wanted to have a longer-term deal with the team. 

Young star Ceddanne Rafaela, after having an almost all-star caliber first half of the season,  seemed to fizzle out, and he became one of the worst hitters in major league baseball after the break. Last season’s star, Jarren Duran, hasn’t returned to the level we saw him in last season. Most of his stats are down from the same time last year. Not to mention, to put it lightly, a majorly disappointing trade deadline. 

Fans had big hopes that we would grab starting pitching help in Joe Ryan from the Minnesota Twins, some power hitters in Yandy Diaz or a first baseman in Ryan O’Hearn. But the GM, Craig Breslow, got none of these players. Instead, he got cheaper rentals in Steven Matz and Dustin May. Dustin May has been terrible for the Red Sox, and Steven Matz has been average, making the deadline a failure, almost making the team worse, and not addressing any issues the team had that could have been fixed going into the postseason. 

The GM slapped the team in the face and figuratively said that the team wasn’t worth investing in, and it seems as if it has taken the life out of them. The team has been bitten hard by the injury bug this season, including  Hunter Dobbins, Tanner Houck, Roman Anthony, Alex Bregman, Marcelo Mayer, Triston Casas, and Wilyer Abreu. They are either missing significant time or out for the rest of the season with injuries. A mix of all of these issues has put the Red Sox in the position they are in now. 

So, what now? Is there still hope for the team? Or will the drought of no Red Sox in October continue for a fourth year in a row? The Red Sox are currently holding the 5 seed in the AL. This would put them in a position to play in the playoffs. The team has to play the top-seeded Blue Jays in Toronto, then finish out the season against the two-seeded Tigers at home for the final games of the season. With them only being one game above the six seed and 1.5 games above the seven-seed, it is going to be a tough road to make the playoffs, needing to win both series against these powerhouse teams. 

There is hope for the team, but it’s going to take perfect play in the last two weeks of the season and some luck for them to make it. There is no telling what the future holds for this team. Not making the playoffs would be a major disappointment, considering that before the season, they were considered a top team and one of the favorites to win the World Series. Now, they are fighting for a wild-card spot. There are five spots still available in the American League for grabs. The only team to clinch one is the Blue Jays, so there’s still some wiggle room for the Sox to push their way into the playoffs. The wild card race grows closer and closer each day as teams make their final push for the postseason. Some teams are winning at the right time and are surging up the standings, while others are sliding at the wrong time. The Sox need to capitalize on the big opportunities that they are being given right now, as the Tigers and Astros are in the midst of a losing streak. The Red Sox own the tiebreaker against the Astros, and then if they win the series against the Tigers, they will own it against them.  The Red Sox’s magic number to make the postseason is three. They need to win at least three games to make it into October.