{"id":5008,"date":"2026-07-15T16:35:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T16:35:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5008"},"modified":"2026-07-15T16:35:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T16:35:42","slug":"not-hyperbole-to-say-red-sox-next-17-games-affect-not-only-this-season-but-the-franchises-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5008","title":{"rendered":"Not hyperbole to say Red Sox\u2019 next 17 games affect not only this season but the franchise\u2019s future"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>PHILADELPHIA \u2014 In a season of whiplash-inducing extremes, the Red Sox now face a pivotal 17-game stretch that could have significant sway over not only this season but the future of the organization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5006\">Trump attorney general nominee Todd Blanche grilled on ICE shootings during Senate confirmation hearing. Follow live updates.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Sound like hyperbole? It shouldn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>After all, it took just 16 games leading up to the All-Star break for the Sox to go from a hapless 32-46 record and seemingly no realistic hopes of the postseason to a 46-48 mark that has them just a half-game behind the Mariners and Twins for the final wild card spot. in the American League. FanGraphs gives the Sox a 40.2 percent shot at the postseason \u2014 the sixth-highest odds of any team in the AL.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>The sentiment surrounding the team has changed drastically.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhen you\u2019re winning,\u201d said All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman with a laugh while speaking through a translator, \u201ceverything is good.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>This is the reality of not only the Red Sox but the AL in 2026. It\u2019s a Slip \u2018N Slide league, where it\u2019s possible to glide past several colliding, bunched-in-the-middle competitors to move rapidly into the front or fall to the back of the pack.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For most of June, a selloff seemed almost unavoidable with the team anchored in last place. Questions about the job security of chief baseball officer Craig Breslow seemed to grow louder each day.<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>From the best trade to the biggest disappointments, here are our Red Sox superlatives at the All-Star break<\/div>\n<p><span>But after the 14-2 stretch that included nine straight road wins to enter the break, the expectation that the Red Sox would trade veterans in search of players who could improve the team\u2019s long-term outlook has been reframed. At this point, it\u2019s hard to imagine the team doing anything to hurt its 2026 chances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI don\u2019t know if it changes the conversation, but I do think that [the recent run] should lower the amount of conversation around the trade deadline and us selling,\u201d said Chapman. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Added interim bench coach Jos\u00e9 David Flores: \u201cDefinitely that [run] changed the perspective of how the front office now sees things. Obviously, they see how our team is playing. [But] obviously there\u2019s still time before the deadline. So we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5004\">Senate committee reviews Erica Schwartz\u2019s nomination to take over beleaguered CDC<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>The second observation is a critical one. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Sox face a critical stretch of 17 games coming out of the All-Star break and leading into the Aug. 3 trade deadline, beginning with a four-game series against the AL East-leading Rays, followed by divisional series against the Orioles and Blue Jays to complete the 10-game homestand, and then a West Coast swing that features four games against the Athletics and three vs. the Dodgers. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Recent weeks underscore how drastically the team\u2019s performance in the next 17 games \u2014 just over 10 percent of the season \u2014 can transform the team\u2019s outlook \u2026 and thus its deadline moves \u2026 and thus the balance of this year vs. the future \u2026 and thus, perhaps, Breslow\u2019s future in the organization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Red Sox have made a habit in recent years of poor starts coming out of the break: A 1-5 skid last year against the Cubs and Phillies from which they needed to recover quickly in order to legitimize their contention push; a 2-7 sputter in 2024 that stalled a strong early-July run; and a 9-11 crabwalk after the break in 2023 that led to organizational indecisiveness in a do-nothing deadline.<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>Corner outfielder Jahmai Jones joins Red Sox via trade from the Tigers<\/div>\n<p><span>Mindful of that history, the Sox sent their players into the break with homework.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe made sure the last day before the break, we talked to the players about the importance of at least doing something daily, just to keep the same tempo that we had this last couple of series [when] we\u2019ve played some really good baseball,\u201d said Flores. \u201cObviously, after the break, we have three important series coming up against division teams. It\u2019s extremely important that we keep the same rhythm \u2026 so that hopefully, when they come back, we continue the same thing, because it\u2019s been fun to watch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The players hope to do their part to influence the team\u2019s decision by continuing the excellent play that allowed them to retreat from the edge of a cliff at the start of the month \u2014 something that could create feedback loops if it catalyzes an effort by the front office to add reinforcements by the trade deadline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI believe [Breslow] and everybody in the front office will go out there and get what they think we\u2019re missing,\u201d said All-Star center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela. \u201cPersonally, I believe in the whole group and I believe in what we have. Of course we want everybody to stay together at the trade deadline. Winning ballgames, that will mean a lot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5002\">Donald Trump endorses \u2018Pillow Man\u2019 Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It took 16 games for the Red Sox to go from hapless to playoff contention, so the stretch that starts with 10 games at Fenway Park and ends with seven out West is of utmost importance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Not hyperbole to say Red Sox\u2019 next 17 games affect not only this season but the franchise\u2019s future - 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