Are the Red Sox Legit?

The Red Sox are sitting in first place of their division by 3.5 games as the All-Star break is here. They’ve taken someone of a hold on the AL East and now it begs the question…

Will they ever lose the division lead again this season? The answer is simple.

No.

However, are they a title contending team?

There’s no doubt that this team has its holes. The bullpen still needs another arm with Thornburg shut down and Carson Smith nursing himself back. The rotating door at the hot corner has duct tape on it for now with Lin and Marrero. However Sandoval is looking to rip the tape to pieces.

That being said, as constituted, this team is by far the best team in the division. They skidded the final week of the first half, but they still have seemed to figure it out.

The question is does Dave Dombrowski buy to fill this team’s needs at the deadline come the end of July? He better. I don’t think they need to trade for a rental at third base when Devers could be ready as early as next summer to take over full-time. They need to go after bullpen help…or they’re not making a push for anything.

I’ve had this take all season and it’s gotten some backlash. To be fair, the bullpen has been good and their E.R.A. is near the top of the league. However, do you trust Matt Barnes or Joe Kelly in the eighth inning? Of a playoff game?? I don’t!

If Carson Smith was healthy this wouldn’t be an issue…same goes for Thornburg. However, Travis Shaw is raking in Milwaukee and we need someone to trust!

There are plenty of options for Dombrowski to make this bullpen better but he just needs to do it. It’s already one of the better bullpens in the league (I’ll admit it) but it’s not a championship bullpen just yet.

Written by: Jared Scali (@Jared_Scali)