Red Sox Outplaying Barely-Passing Midseason Grade From MLB Analyst

Perhaps the Boston Red Sox have ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield to thank for their season-high seven-game winning streak.

The MLB analyst posted his midseason grades for all 30 clubs on Wednesday. What he had to say about the Red Sox couldn’t have gone over well in the Boston clubhouse.

Schoenfield’s grade? C-. Ouch.

“It feels like it has been more soap opera than baseball season in Boston, with the (Rafael) Devers drama finally ending with the shocking trade with the Giants,” Schoenfield wrote.

“If you give added weight that this is the Red Sox, a team that should be operating with the big boys in both budget and aspirations and instead seemed to only want to dump Devers’ contract, then feel free to lower this grade a couple of notches, even if the Red Sox are close in the wild-card standings,” Schoenfield continued.

“On the field, the heralded rookie trio of Kristian Campbell, Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer hasn’t exactly clicked, with Campbell returning to the minors after posting a .902 OPS in April.

“A big test will come out of the All-Star break, when they play the Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers, Twins and Astros in a tough 15-game stretch,” Schoenfield concluded.

The Red Sox have three more games against the Tampa Bay Rays before the All-Star break. Boston is 9-1 in its last 10 games, which includes sweeps of the Washington Nationals and Colorado Rockies.

Doubters are quick to point out the Nationals and Rockies are last-place teams, which is true. But the Red Sox didn’t set their schedule. All they can do is play the games in front of them and take care of business when facing inferior clubs. And that’s exactly what they did.

The Rays will be a good test heading into the break. After Thursday’s 4-3 win at Fenway Park, the Red Sox (50-45) are just a half-game behind Tampa Bay (50-44) for third place in the American League East and second place in the AL Wild Card standings.