With their recent play, Red Sox have proved they're worthy of acquiring reinforcements

Boston Globe

2 days ago

Kristian Campbell, their can't-miss rookie second baseman, was demoted to Triple A Worcester on June 18 after hitting .154 over a stretch of 39 games.
Alex Cora was cobbling together lineups that looked better suited for the longest road trip of spring training.
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But the Sox survived, Sunday's 4-3 victory against the Dodgers was the latest example of their resilience. Down 3-1, the Sox scored three runs in a span of two pitches in the fifth inning.
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Roman Anthony lined a ball off the Wall and hustled to third with an RBI triple. Alex Bregman hit the next pitch from Dustin May 400 feet into the Monster Seats.
Four relievers combined to get the final 12 outs.
Wonder if all those Red Sox season-ticket holders who sold their ducats to road-tripping Dodgers fans were regretting not being there to see it?
'We're playing really good baseball the last month and a half,' said Ceddanne Rafaela, whose unassisted double play bailed Jordan Hicks out of a jam in the eighth inning.
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'We're a good team. All the players, we believe that.'
With 55 games remaining in the season, the 57-50 Sox hold the second wild card in the American League by a half-game over Seattle. They have won 14 of 19 since July 4.
The Sox also have reclaimed home-field advantage at Fenway Park. They are 34-21 at home with victories in 11 of the last 13 games.
On June 16, a day after the Devers trade, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow flew to Seattle and told the players he had not run up a white flag. The message was he still believed in this team.
Now it's time to back up those words with actions.
At the very least, the Sox require a reliable starting pitcher and a reliever Cora can trust in a tight game.
If Marcelo Mayer's wrist injury is serious, then another infielder is needed as well.
It feels too greedy to also expect a first baseman. The point is there are several avenues Breslow can take to improve the team.
As Thursday's trade deadline approaches, Cora straddles the line between being close with his players yet part of management.
'It's hard, but you know how it works. Over the years I've learned to stay in the moment and keep going,' he said. 'Our job is to win games.
'Putting pressure on the front office and putting pressure on [ownership], it doesn't work that way. Either we're going to go one way or we go the other.'
Cora was then quick to point out that he sees the Sox as being a playoff team.
Within a clubhouse, players believe a team should be rewarded with reinforcements at the deadline if they are contending for the postseason.
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Breslow understands that ethos. He was a member of the 2013 Red Sox, who sent Jose Iglesias to Detroit as part of a three-team trade that sent Jake Peavy to Boston.
Iglesias was a promising 23-year-old shortstop but the Sox were deep at that position. Peavy started 10 games that season, then three more in the postseason.
Peavy allowed one run over 5⅔ innings in Game 4 of the Division Series against Tampa Bay. The Sox went on to a 3-1 series-clinching victory with — wait for it — Breslow getting the victory.
Now it's Breslow's job to find the 2025 version of Peavy. Or maybe it's the 2025 version of Steve Pearce.
'It'll be interesting to see what happens the next few days,' Garrett Crochet said. 'Have we earned the right to get better? I think so. We've been fighting through it.'
The Sox are off on Thursday.
'Kind of weird,' outfielder Rob Refsnyder said. 'We'll be watching like everybody else.'
Peter Abraham can be reached at