The Month of Living Dangerously

 

So. After a 21-4 July, which is an incredibly odd thing to type out, the Boston Red Sox have gone from punchline of the division to a serious wild card threat. Not much has changed. Chad Tracy's managing now. Brayan Bello was demoted to middle relief in favor of Patrick Sandoval. Anthony Siegler's been up, Romy Gonzalez has been healthy. Everything else has been the same, personnel-wise. So...I think the key is that everything that wasn't working about this team from the start is working now. That includes Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez and Caleb Durbin, who all had really rough starts and have become some of the highlights of the team.

Durbin is a strange case, because he had a better hitting season last year with Milwaukee. He's doing fine this year, he has 10 home runs and 44 RBIs, but the hook has been his improved defense at third, which it just feels like the Sox haven't really had in a while. Gray and Suarez have both settled in and are in the midst of excellent seasons. Gray is 13-2 with a 2.93 ERA, a comeback season if I've ever seen one. Suarez has a 3.15 ERA and 105 Ks, very much a middle of the rotation year like the ones he had in Philly. And around that you have two standout seasons from young starters, Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett, and they've been very helpful. Bennett, in 11 starts, is 6-4 with a 2.74 ERA, and Toller has a 3.30 ERA and 110 Ks. The closest thing to a knockout, K-heavy ace, Garrett Crochet, is still out with an injury, and the guys who are left, while not bad, are just steady, formidable guys that do the work. 

That's really how you'd describe a lot of this Sox team. A lot of guys on the same page, not elbowing each other for the stardom, just lining up and performing. Masataka Yoshida, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Romy Gonzalez have always given me that idea, just consistent performers who get up there and do something cool and it doesn't have to be about them. Willson Contreras and Caleb Durbin, therefore, fit right in, and Anthony Siegler seems to have gotten this memo as well. Which is why the 'look at me' guys haven't always done as well. Jarren Duran is STILL trying to work back up to something decent, but he's still hitting .199 despite 13 homers and 56 RBIs. Roman Anthony is hurt yet again, and was hitting .229 before the fact. Trevor Story's once again missing a large chunk of the year. Contreras is the closest thing to a big star, and he certainly had his big ego moment with Cade Cavalli, but even he's sort of dialed into the group mentality and doesn't have to be THE guy, despite being far and away the best offensive performer on the team. 

It's been cool seeing this Sox team come to prominence, and after adding Curtis Mead they look to keep adding pieces in the next few hours and make a run. The issue I have is that we're still not sure if they're a Blue Jays 2.0 type team that doesn't let up, or if July was it and they're about to go back downhill, now with even more cargo. I think they will remain a player, I just don't know if they'll be as unstoppable as they were last month. Then again, it has been a while since the Sox have won a World Series, and this could be the kind of team that shocks everyone. 

Coming Tonight: Probably a Top 10 Trade Deadline Deals post, if I'm up to it. 

Uncustomed Heroes of 2025: Brewers

After years of being in position to dominate and constantly getting knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, the Milwaukee Brewers finally had a team that could go the distance. For the first time since 2018, the Brewers made the NLCS, and though they weren't any match for a surging Dodgers team, they proved that with a lineup like this, and with the young pitching they've developed, this may be a regular occurrence. You can see we're beginning to shift from the team of Yelich, Woodruff and Peralta to the team of Chourio, Contreras and Misiorowski, and both factions could unite this year to produce a team that even edged out the Cubs thanks to a blistering second half. 

With so many great players to choose to make customs of every week and a half, that means some even more worthy subjects had to be kept until December. Meaning I had to wait until now to make a custom of Rookie of the Year candidate and immediate Milwaukee success Caleb Durbin. I dunno, maybe I'm still mad that we traded him for Devin Williams. That could have been OUR third baseman, man. Regardless, Durbin was fantastic in his first full season in the bigs, hitting .253 with 11 homers and 53 RBIs, plus 18 stolen bases and some strong defensive work at third. Between Durbin and Collins, the Brewers immediately found some answers at even more positions, and are firming their team up to be at this for a while.

2026 Prediction: Firmer stats in a second year, closer to 25 homers perhaps.

Joey Ortiz has found a niche as the nine man in this lineup, but even he had some strong moments this season, hitting .343 in August with 24 hits and 12 RBIs in 20 games. Clearly the Brewers love Ortiz for his defense, even if it wasn't as good this year at short [his first year there after Adames' departure], but he's definitely capable of some contact moments.

2026 Prediction: If the Brewers are gonna make any upgrades this offseason, it will be at shortstop. Meaning Ortiz might need to get used to utility/bench work.

After Jose Quintana's start to this decade, where he fell apart for the Cubs and was too injury-waterlogged to make any impact for the Angels, I did not think his career had much longevity left in it, especially after a decade of strong work with the White Sox and Cubs. But lo and behold, the 2022 season brought him back, and Quintana even became a crucial healthy arm for the Mets last year. The Brewers took a flyer on Quintana on a similar role, a veteran starting arm that could step in for injured guys. And even as an Opening Day guy, Quintana outdid everyone's expectations, going 11-7 in 24 starts with a 3.96 ERA and 86 Ks. Quintana could still be a big game guy for this team, even with much younger and starrier options around him, and proved himself even at 36. 

2026 Prediction: Who even knows. Look, I see somebody like the Phils or the Giants picking him up, and...it not going nearly as well.

After a terrific rookie season in 2023, Abner Uribe had a chance at becoming closer in Milwaukee, and blew it, getting hurt in April and leaving the position open for Williams again. Which honestly proves that Uribe might just be better as a middle relief guy right now. Anyway, moved back to the eighth in 2025, Uribe had an even better season, with a 2.7 WAR, a 1.67 ERA and 90 Ks. Once the closing option got injured, he even held his own in the ninth and notched 7 saves. He was also fantastic in the playoffs, striking out 6 in 6 innings, with one save. 

2026 Prediction: After a year like that it's gotta come down somewhat, but I still see him being healthy enough to play a big role in this team's October success.

The primary closing option, a year after Devin Williams' departure, was Trevor Megill. Megill, like Williams, is a reliever first and a closer afterwards, but Megill's strong work in Milwaukee led to him being RP1 going into the season, so given that job he got a lot done, with 30 saves in 50 appearances, plus a 2.49 ERA and 60 Ks. His midyear injury did open the door for Uribe a bit, but he was back in time for the playoffs, where he had a 2.25 ERA in 5 appearances. 

2026 Prediction: Breaks 30 saves again, gets another ASG nod.

So, stop me if you've heard this one before: the Brewers called up one of their top pitching prospects, they were excellent for 5 or so games and then immediately got hurt and had to miss the rest of the season. If this sounds like Robert Gasser last season, you're right. Logan Henderson's promotion was a huge deal in April, and he impressed, going 3-0 with a 1.78 ERA and 33 Ks in 5 starts. Then, of course, he gets hurt, and misses the rest of the season. Ironically, Robert Gasser was able to help out in October in his place, though not well.

2026 Prediction: Henderson and Gasser will get in a fistfight in the minors, as they're literally competing for the same roster spot. Henderson might win, as he's the better overall pitcher. 

Blake Perkins was hurt for the entire first half of the season, but luckily managed to come back to a vacancy in center field due to Jackson Chourio's injury. He was alright in 54 games, hitting .226 with 3 homers and 19 RBIs. Perkins just needs everything to fall in line for a full season, but with Chourio, Frelick and Collins all confirming outfield positions, he might just be better off as a bench guy.

2026 Prediction: A fuller year, and a statistically more valuable year, as a backup.

Finally, 2025 represented the long awaited return of Brandon Woodruff, after a year and a half of injury and contract hell. The Big Woo did exactly what he set out to do upon his return, going 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA and 83 Ks in 12 starts. It may have been a smaller sample size due to another injury taking him out for October, but Woodruff delivered in a year where many Brewers fans didn't know if he'd have anything left. The Brewers' brass helped matters by signing Woodruff to one more year.

2026 Prediction: A very strong season that sets him up for either a superfluous multi-year deal somewhere less competitive or, more likely, Kershaw money to keep him in Milwaukee til he retires.

Coming Tomorrow- A lot of small pieces of a Cardinals team lacking in big takeaways.