Red Sox could turn to top prospect Franklin Arias as injuries threaten playoff push originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox have had a bit of a rocky August after their dominant month and a half run prior, as they have lost their last three series, winning only three of their last 10 games. However, thanks to the prior surge, they are still in the second Wild Card spot, five games over the final spot.
It looks like the Sox have taken some damage over the past couple weeks though, as they have lost multiple starters to the IL. Masataka Yoshida, Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten have all gone down, as Roman Anthony, Trevor Story and Isiah Kiner-Falefa try to work their way back.
Boston needs to weather the storm
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The Red Sox are showing their hand with today’s game, as they opted for an opener for Brayan Bello, giving Jake Bennett the day off, and pushing back all their starting pitchers a day.
Choosing to do a bullpen game though is risky, as Boston has already lost its two premier set-up men. Hopefully, Bello can go for a long start, so they don’t burn too many relievers.
Another thing the Sox need to do is make sure their offense steps up in this period. Without their top-tier pitching, scoring one to four runs isn’t going to cut it. They need their offense to kick into overdrive, so getting Anthony and the others is a priority. And, maybe calling up the ace in their AAA sleeve might help as well.
Should Boston call up their farm jewel?
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Franklin Arias, Boston’s No. 1 prospect, was recently pushed up from No. 7 to No. 3 on the MLB’s Top 100. He was promoted to AAA just a couple weeks ago, and he’s already become one of their best players.
He’s slashing .297/.365/.407/.878 with four doubles, four home runs, and 19 RBI in 18 games. He’s got the pop Boston needs right now, and could be the ace in the hole for a final playoff push.
The only problem with this is Boston has a ton of middle infielders. Sure, right now all they have is Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Seigler and Nick Sogard, but soon Story and IKF will return, and Curtis Mead sometime in September.
The Red Sox need to act quickly
Eric Canha-Imagn Images
The Sox have 38 games left in the season, and some of them can be gimme’s, and some of them will be tough.
Right now, they need to rally, stay in their Wild Card spot, and maybe even try for one more push to take the top spot. The return of Anthony and other their stars should help, but getting Arias to The Show might be their best option to shake things up.
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