It’s time to recognize the Red Sox offense as one of the best in baseball

It’s time to recognize the Red Sox offense as one of the best in baseball originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston

We tend to judge offenses by their stars. The Yankees are fearsome because of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. The Orioles go with Gunnar Henderson. MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr. almost single-handedly transformed the Royals.

Outside of Rafael Devers, the Red Sox don’t have any immediately recognizable standouts. Jarren Duran just made his first All-Star teamTyler O’Neill fell off everyone’s radar during a few injury-plagued seasons in St. Louis, and Wilyer Abreu is a rookie whose numbers are depressed because he fell on the steps of the shelter.

But don’t let the lack of star power fool you, because the Red Sox have inexorably built one of the best offenses in baseball, a dynamic group that is punishing opponents not just on the bases but suddenly with the long ball as well.

While the starting pitching carried the club through the first two months, it’s now easy to imagine the lineup carrying the team to the playoffs.

Monday’s 9-5 win over the Royals provided the latest evidence. The Red Sox weren’t exactly efficient, but they were relentless. They had 18 hits, finally getting the sixth when Duran hit a two-run left-to-left double down the left field line to break a 2-2 tie.

Romy Gonzalez opened things up an inning later with a two-run home run, and the Red Sox moved within a game and a half of the Royals in the race for the final wild card, with two more to play in Kansas City.

“We had a humble approach, to be honest,” coach Alex Cora told reporters, including Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe. “We hit the ball everywhere and ran the bases well. The kids did an incredible job at the bottom of the lineup. We kept putting pressure on them.”

The numbers since the All-Star break speak for themselves. The Red Sox lead baseball in runs (107), hits (189), batting average (.309), slugging (.555) and OPS (.921). They trail the Yankees in home runs (30 to 29) and OBP (.367 to .366), and are also in the top five in steals, with 20 hits in 22 attempts.

For all the talk about director of baseball Craig Breslow failing to upgrade the offense with a better right-handed bat than Danny Jansen, the offense is not now a problem, nor does it project to be one.

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While it’s true that the Red Sox have had their struggles against left-handed starters, it’s also true that they simply won’t face many of them if they make the playoffs. The Mariners and Twins are all right-handed, the Orioles (Cole Irvin) and Guardians (Logan Allen) probably wouldn’t start either left-hander in the postseason, and the Red Sox targeted New York’s Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodón. That leaves Kansas City’s Cole Ragans and Houston’s Framber Valdez. This is feasible.

What’s most impressive about the current offense is how it comes from everywhere.

Devers is hitting 1.000 OPS for the first time in his career. Duran’s exploits continue to win crazy comparisons to Hall of Famers like Kiki Cuyler. Abreu is an emerging force. Dominic Smith is launching rockets. Even the maligned DH Masataka Yoshida caught fire, increasing his average by 40 points in just over a month.

Right-handed backups Rob Refsnyder, Gonzalez and Jansen combined to hit .305 with 10 home runs in just over 300 at-bats. They can even recover first baseman Triston Casas at some point.

This is an offense made to win in October, when the ability to manufacture runs can win a close game. The Red Sox are 13-7 in one-run games, a testament not just to their bullpen but their propensity to find a way.

That’s a skill that should continue to serve them well as they advance through the playoffs.