The idea of undertaking a midseason Red Sox report card would've felt pointless on Opening Day. Why wallow in more failure?
But something surprising happened on the road to irrelevance. The Red Sox exceeded everyone's expectations, including those of ownership, and now they're worth grading.
So let's dive right in and give a number of high marks to a club that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. (Note: Players graded have a minimum of 100 plate appearances or 20 innings pitched and are listed in alphabetical order by last name.)
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OF Wilyer Abreu: B
If not for a freak accident falling down the dugout steps, Abreu might've been an A-minus. As it is, his season can be broken down into three discrete sections: a slow start, a monster May, and a post-injury period that's finally ticking back up.
When Abreu is locked in, he hits 'em as far as anyone on the roster. Add plus defensive skills in right field, and he makes Chaim Bloom's Christian Vazquez trade a clear winner.
RP Chase Anderson: C
Anderson has a job and he does it well. Only Kenley Jansen has finished more games than Anderson's 20 on the staff, but for entirely different reasons. Jansen closes wins. Anderson wraps up blowout losses, often two or three innings at a time.
The Red Sox have lost 17 of his 23 appearances, but every inning he throws up or down four runs is one that a higher-leverage reliever can avoid. There's value in that.
SP Brayan Bello: D
On the one hand, this feels like a low grade for someone who technically leads the team in wins (10). On the other hand, amidst a staff of overachievers, Bello stands out as the one hurler not meeting expectations.
His 5.32 ERA ranks dead last on this list, and it's not like it's the result of one or two poor starts. Of particular concern has been his inability to keep bad innings in check. Once things go south, they stay that way. The good news is he has the second half to fix this.
RP Brennan Bernardino: A-minus
If the Red Sox could do it again, they'd have taken Bernardino with them out of camp. Instead, they dinked around with fellow left-hander Joely Rodriguez, who blew the third game of the season and posted a 6.55 ERA before being demoted.
Bernardino pitches with guts, as anyone who saw him overcome a pair of 3-0 counts vs. the Royals on Sunday can attest, and his 1.69 ERA speaks to his usefulness.
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RP Cam Booser: B
Booser is an incredible story, a 32-year-old rookie who quit baseball in 2017 to hang ceilings outside Tacoma after a series of injuries seemingly ended his career at Single-A. He returned to independent ball four years later with a 100 mph fastball, and those are hard to ignore, especially from left-handers.
Since making his emotional debut in April, he has ridden the Triple-A shuttle to Worcester, but he has also done everything asked of him, striking out over a batter an inning while limiting his walks.
SP Kutter Crawford: A-minus
For a little over a month, Crawford and not Tanner Houck looked like the breakout star of the staff. He led the American League in ERA and remained sub-2.00 until mid-May. He scuffled through a so-so June before regaining his mojo just before the All-Star break with back-to-back games of seven shutout innings.
Crawford's unorthodox short-arm delivery and 16th-round pedigree don't scream front-end starter, but the Red Sox would be out of the playoff race without him.
SP Cooper Criswell: B-minus
Yet another anonymous pitcher who delivered some key outings, especially when the rotation needed a boost in late April and early May. Outside of injured right-hander Lucas Giolito, Criswell represented the sum total of the team's investment in the starting rotation via free agency this winter.
The Red Sox won the sidewinding right-hander's first five starts, a crucial contribution when the team was down three starters in April. He hasn't been nearly as good since, but given the club's lack of starting depth, he'll undoubtedly get more opportunities.
3B Rafael Devers: A
Some of us were questioning the wisdom of Devers' massive extension as recently as a few months ago, but he has answered the doubters with a monster season, especially recently. He traditionally turns it on in July, and this year is no exception. He's hit .375 with nine homers over his last 17 games, and he's making all the plays defensively, too.
The Red Sox paid Devers to be not just the face of their franchise, but the heart of their lineup, and he is delivering an MVP-caliber season.
OF Jarren Duran: A
This could've been an A-plus, but we're only doling out one of those. It took Duran a while to find his swing as a big leaguer, and he has been public about the mental-health challenges of playing the game, but man, has he put it all together and then some.
A first-time All-Star, the team's leadoff hitter and sparkplug still hasn't missed a game. He leads the American League in doubles and triples and his daring, aggressive style sets the tone for the entire organization.
SP Tanner Houck: A
The Red Sox would be fighting the Rays and Jays for AL East also-ran status without Houck, who might've been one bad week away from starting the All-Star Game. Talk about consistent – he has reached the sixth inning in all but two starts, and one of those was delayed by rain.
He is the club's unflappable stopper and much like Duran, has overcome early-career struggles with inconsistency to emerge as one of the best pitchers in the game.
OF David Hamilton: B-minus
The defense will probably always be a work in progress, but Hamilton's baserunning and surprising ability to barrel the ball have made him a driving force behind the club's relentless new identity.
We all knew he could run, but there's more to his game than the 23 steals. His .745 OPS suggests a more complete hitter with a little bit of pop. One concern is that he does strike out a lot for a speed guy.
RP Kenley Jansen: A
He doesn't light up the radar gun. He often looks like he's laboring. It doesn't matter, because he delivers. And to think the Red Sox spent most of the first half assuming they'd trade him. Now there's no chance.
Jansen has converted 19 of 20 save opportunities with a simple combo of woodboring cutter and elevated fastball, and he has ensured the Red Sox don't let easy victories evaporate. He's also one of the few battle-tested veterans on an otherwise young roster. He's invaluable.
RP Zack Kelly: B
Very quietly – or loudly, as the case may be for the excitable right-hander – Kelly has put together an excellent season. In 14 appearances dating back to the start of June, Kelly owns a 1.45 ERA.
Like Anderson, he remains more of a low-leverage option, but he has pitched like someone who could take on more responsibility.
RP Chris Martin: B-minus
Martin established an insane standard last season when he allowed only one earned run after June 9. He hasn't been that good this year, struggling early with new pitching coach Andrew Bailey philosophy of emphasizing non-fastballs.
He looked to be regaining his 2023 form before missing time with anxiety, and he's currently on the injured list with elbow inflammation. His availability to be the club's primary setup man looms large over the second half, especially if he misses extended time.
C Reese McGuire: C
After a hot start, McGuire has cooled considerably. What looked like a possible catching platoon in the early going has turned into the Connor Wong show, with McGuire assuming backup duties. He's hitting .220 and hasn't homered since June.
OF Tyler O'Neill: B
This year's Adam Duvall Memorial crazy start goes to O'Neill, who homered nine times in April while leading the league in OPS. But injuries have been a problem throughout his career, and they've proven nagging this year, too.
For all his power – Devers is the only teammate with more homers than O'Neill's 16 – O'Neill has only driven in 31 runs. Still, considering how badly the Red Sox need right-handed power, they'll take everything O'Neill has given them.
SP Nick Pivetta: C
Bello has taken most of the heat for not living up to expectations, but lest we forget, Pivetta was excellent last year, and that momentum hasn't carried over to 2024. He's 4-6 with a 4.18 ERA and has authored an up-and-down season best summed up by a pair of one-hit shutouts over seven innings vs. five outings of fewer than five innings.
With injuries hitting the bullpen, one possible solution for Craig Breslow could be acquiring a starter or two and shifting Pivetta back to the bullpen, where he dominated in the middle of last year.
OF/SS Ceddanne Rafaela: B
Too low? Maybe by half a grade, but it's hard to ignore Rafaela's sub-.700 OPS and the fact that he still strikes out about nine times for every walk.
Quibbles aside, Rafaela might've saved the season when he shifted from center field, where he looked like a possible Gold Glover, to shortstop. He might not be quite as strong in the infield as the outfield, but he's by far the best option the Red Sox have, and they needed stability following Trevor Story's season-ending injury.
Rafaela shockingly ranks second on the team in RBIs (52) and will earn Rookie of the Year votes.
OF Rob Refsnyder: A-minus
Refsnyder is the kind of veteran every team could use. He's an above-average defender in the outfield, he hammers left-handed pitching, and he knows his role. The Red Sox are 23-15 when he starts, and that's no coincidence.
RP Justin Slaten: A-minus
The Red Sox hit their second Rule 5 home run in four years with the selection of Slaten, who has emerged as one of Alex Cora's most trusted high-leverage arms. The lanky right-hander has probably pitched even better than his 3.38 ERA, and his current situation bears watching.
He's on the injured list with elbow inflammation, and though the team doesn't consider the injury serious now, if that changes, Breslow could be in the market for a reliever.
1B Dominic Smith: C
He's holding down first base while Triston Casas works his way back, and he's had some big hits, but Smith would probably best be used in a reserve role. He does seem like a good clubhouse fit, for what it's worth.
2B Enmanuel Valdez: D-plus
He's not a great defender and he's a .220 hitter. Whether he'll ever be more than either of those things is anyone's guess.
RP Greg Weissert: C
Weissert has been perfectly acceptable in a low-leverage role, though he has really struggled of late, allowing runs in each of his last six appearances. Still, as Alex Verdugo implodes in New York, Weissert is a reminder that the trade that brought him here remains an example of addition by subtraction.
RP Josh Winckowski: C-plus
Winckowski looked like a keeper last season in middle relief before fading. He has bounced between Triple-A Worcester and Boston, with his velocity down a couple mph. He returned in June with a solid start vs. the Padres, but the Red Sox don't appear inclined to lean on him in the rotation.
C Connor Wong: A
The Mookie Betts trade wasn't a total loss, if that's any consolation. Wong has broken through with stalwart work behind the plate and a .307 average that made him a borderline All-Star. He's athletic on the bases, possesses at least an average arm, and is versatile enough to play some first and second.
Wong may be on borrowed time with prospect Kyle Teel looming, but he's making the most of it.
OF Masataka Yoshida: D
This grade would be even worse, but Yoshida has finally started hitting. Still, when your $18 million DH hits .260 with only four homers, he's not doing his part. As the Red Sox look to get more right-handed offensively, DH would be a natural place to start.
Manager Alex Cora: A-plus
What more could you possibly ask of a lame-duck manager? Cora has pushed all the right buttons from Day 1 of spring training, when he laid the groundwork for this surprising first half.
Rather than play silly games with the lazy "no one respected us" card, Cora has his team putting its head down and doing the work. Add his masterful balancing of an oft-injured pitching staff with a number of defensive position changes on what feels like a nightly basis, and he's managing his ass off, if you'll pardon my language.
GM Craig Breslow: Incomplete
You might think this is a cop-out, but after a surprisingly quiet winter, Breslow will get his chance to earn a final grade by the trade deadline. It now looks like he's going to buy, and hooray for that.
Red Sox fans should feel cautiously optimistic, because most of his winter moves have paid off to some degree, led by O'Neill and Slaten, with Chris Sale for Vaughn Grissom the obvious miss. If Breslow arrived expecting to sell, it's time for him to show what he can do as a buyer and then we'll render our final verdict.