One month ago on June 5, the Boston Red Sox had a 31-31 record and the worst odds of any American League East team to make the MLB playoffs at 13.3 percent, per FanGraphs.
Fast forward a month and the Red Sox's situation has improved quite a bit.
The Red Sox own a 47-39 record and have won 16 of their last 24 games entering their weekend series versus the rival New York Yankees, which begins Friday night at Yankee Stadium.
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The Red Sox's updated playoff odds, as of Friday afternoon, are 41.5 percent, according to FanGraphs. They currently occupy the third and final wild card playoff spot in the American League, but the Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros are just 0.5 and 2.5 games behind, respectively. Boston also is just 1.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins for the second wild card spot.
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Baseball's most intense rivals are currently heading in opposite directions.
The Yankees have lost three games in a row and eight of their last 10. As a result, the Baltimore Orioles have overtaken the Yankees for first place in the division.
The Red Sox, meanwhile, have won four straight after sweeping the Miami Marlins on the road and have won seven of their last 10 games overall, including a 6-5 12-inning victory in Miami on Thursday night.
A Red Sox sweep in the Bronx this weekend would move Boston within 2.5 games of New York in the standings.
Given how well the Red Sox are playing of late, plus the fact that they have a realistic chance at reaching the postseason, it'll be fascinating to see how aggressive the front office is in the trade market ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.
A couple reinforcements could give the Red Sox a really strong chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021.