Thursday, July 02

BOSTON -- Though the Red Sox have performed well below expectations from a team standpoint, there are several individuals who have built candidacies that would make them worthy members of the American League All-Star team.

MLB will unveil full rosters for both leagues Saturday on FOX, starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Without further ado, here are the Boston players who are most worthy of consideration.

Willson Contreras 

The Red Sox were in search of a clubhouse presence and a right-handed bat last offseason. In Contreras, who waived his no-trade clause with St. Louis to come to Boston, they’ve gotten both.

The first baseman plays with boundless fire and he has a habit of delivering hits at the most important times. With runners in scoring position and two outs, Contreras has a 1.145 OPS. In Boston’s 37 wins, Contreras has a 1.066 OPS. He already has 18 homers, which are six shy of the career high he set in 2019. Contreras has pull power that was built for Fenway Park.

“He's our guy,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “That guy is our presence in the middle of the order that can do instant damage.”

Contreras crowds the plate and dares pitchers to come at him. On defense, in just his second year as a first baseman after converting from catcher, Contreras makes all the plays and enjoys showcasing his cannon arm.

Sonny Gray

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow vowed to get more firepower behind Garrett Crochet in the rotation and wound up trading for Gray just before Thanksgiving.

That turned out to be a most fortuitous move, given that Crochet hasn’t pitched since April 25 due to left shoulder inflammation.

Gray has stepped up as the ace, and it was there for a national television audience to see on Sunday Night Baseball last week, when he went 7 1/3 innings before giving up his first hit against the Yankees.

The 36-year-old is the ultimate craftsman. Backed by his six-pitch mix, Gray is vying to become an All-Star for the fourth time -- and first since ‘23. 

In his first 15 starts for the Red Sox, Gray is 9-1 with a 2.69 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.

Aroldis Chapman

At the age of 38, the lefty fireballer continues to defy his age with utter dominance. A rare slump of late -- in which he blew two of his last four save opportunities -- doesn’t take away from how effective he’s been since coming to Boston at the start of last season.

In his 26 appearances this season, Chapman has a 2.19 ERA, while holding opponents to a .204 average and a .581 OPS.

Chapman’s fastball still hits 100 at times, and his slider is lethal. He also mixes in a nasty sinker and, on occasion, he adds a splitter to put even more in the opponents’ heads.

With Chapman’s next strikeout, he will surpass Hoyt Wilhelm for the most by a relief pitcher with 1,364. That could come as soon as Friday night in Anaheim.

When did Chapman first think he could pitch so well late into his 30s?

“There was never a point or a moment that I thought about that,” Chapman said. “For me, it’s just preparation, staying healthy and doing the thing that I love. And that’s what I’ve been doing since I’ve been here in the big leagues and that’s what drives me to pitch every single day.”

Ranger Suarez

Breslow famously pivoted in the offseason when Alex Bregman departed for the Cubs by signing Suarez to a five-year, $130 million contract.

In this era of velocity, Suarez does it the old-fashioned way, changing speeds and keeping hitters off-balance. 

Over 16 starts, Suarez has a 2.94 ERA, while walking 26 and striking out 92 in 88 2/3 innings. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 10 outings. 

Ceddanne Rafaela

In center field, Rafaela is as good as anyone in the game, and has a Gold Glove from last season to prove it. His defense has been elite since his rookie season of 2024.

“I think he’s the best outfielder in the Major Leagues,” Red Sox right fielder Wilyer Abreu said.

However, Rafaela was streaky on offense in his first two seasons, mostly because he swung at, well, just about anything. Though Rafaela will never be considered selective, the right-handed hitter has made modest improvement with his chase rate and has been one of his team’s most consistent hitters. After hitting in the bottom third of the order most of the time in ‘24 and ‘25, Rafaela has settled in nicely as the No. 2 hitter for Tracy.

Boston’s rotation was on a roll in firing 12 quality starts. It looked like the streak was going to reach 13 on Tuesday, when Connelly Early opened his night with four scoreless innings against the Nationals. But on the last pitch of that fourth, the rookie lefty felt discomfort in his elbow.

By Wednesday, he was placed on the 15-day injured list, though results of his MRI exam (posterior elbow inflammation) provide hope he won’t be out long past the All-Star break.

The Red Sox have scheduled off-days on Thursday and Monday, meaning they can finagle the rotation so Early’s replacement will only have to pitch once before the break.

It appears that the next man up will be lefty Patrick Sandoval, who has faced a long road back from the Tommy John surgery he had while with the Angels halfway through the 2024 season. Sandoval will make what should be his final Minor League rehab start on Saturday against Double-A Portland. Look for him to pitch for the Sox against the Mets next weekend at Citi Field.

In 100 career starts, Sandoval has a 4.01 ERA.

When Connor Wong started behind the plate for the toastiest day of the season so far at Fenway on Wednesday (95 degrees, stifling humidity for a 1:35 p.m. ET game), he endured a laborious day in which Boston’s pitching staff issued 10 walks in a 10-2 loss to the Nationals.

Did Wong lose weight during a game that took three hours and five minutes?

“I actually did. A lot,” he said. “Six pounds. Two jerseys, countless waters, some Pedialyte. Yeah, it was a hot one.” 

Thankfully for Wong, the Red Sox have Thursday off before getting back out there on Friday night against the Angels in what will be a milder climate in Anaheim.

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