BOSTON -- The Red Sox achieved step one of their goal by punching their ticket to the playoffs on Sunday.
They have a rubber match of a three-game series with the Guardians on Thursday and then a three-game series against the Cubs that starts with a split doubleheader on Friday.
And then it is playoff time.
How will manager Chad Tracy approach the finish line?
“I’d say the No. 1 thing is health. That being said, we’ve still got some games to play, and you’ve got to keep guys out there and engaged and ready to roll because you're still working on timing and you're still working on things in your swing,” said Tracy. “So all of that matters. The big thing on the pitching end is being proactive, looking at it before the game, ‘Who do we want available today,' being strict to it, and trying to get the guys in the bullpen the work that they need, but still being competitive within that game.
“So there's a lot of things that you're doing. I told the guys before, ‘We earned the right to be in position to be able to line things up.' That being said, we still want to go out and win the games."
Without further ado, here are some key talking points heading into the playoffs.
What could the postseason roster look like?
C: Adley Rutschman, Connor Wong
1B: Willson Contreras
2B: Nick Sogard
SS: Trevor Story
3B: Caleb Durbin
UTIL: Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Mickey Gasper
OF: Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Braiden Ward
DH: Roman Anthony, Jahmai Jones
SP: Payton Tolle, Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez
Bullpen: Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock, Tyron Guerrero, Erik Miller, Greg Weissert, Brayan Bello, Jake Bennett, Garrett Crochet, Alec Gamboa
The most intriguing decision for the position-player roster surrounds whether to add Ward, who set the Triple-A Worcester record with 61 stolen bases this season, as a pinch-running specialist. Dave Roberts, anyone?
The bullpen situation also bears watching. Considering that Crochet hasn’t pitched since April 25, the club will continue to monitor him as the homestand winds down. The lefty took a positive step on Tuesday, throwing 16 pitches of batting practice to Rafaela. Does Tanner Houck, coming off Tommy John surgery, have a shot? Perhaps. The righty is spending the week in Fort Myers, Fla., as part of the “stay ready” crew.
When does the postseason begin?
For the Red Sox, the fun starts on Sept. 29, when Tracy’s club participates in an AL Wild Card Series, with all games in the best-of-three series to be played on the road, nearly certain to be at Yankee Stadium. New York has already clinched the No. 4 seed and Boston could clinch the No. 5 seed as soon as Thursday.
The only other scenario that can stave off another rivalry match would be the Red Sox slipping to the No. 6 seed. For that to happen, the White Sox, Guardians and Red Sox would all have to finish with identical records. In that scenario, the Guardians would be the No. 5 seed and the Red Sox would be No. 6 while the White Sox would be AL Central champs. In that case, the Red Sox would go to Chicago instead of New York.
How have the Red Sox performed against the Yankees this season?
Last year, Boston’s hopes of getting a playoff game at Fenway Park for the first time since ‘21 ended when the team lost Game 3 of the Wild Card Series to … the Yankees in the Bronx. So, yes, this would be a rematch between the rivals. In a form befitting the rivalry, the regular-season series swayed back and forth, with New York ultimately taking seven of the 13 head-to-head encounters.
The Yankees swept the Red Sox at Fenway from April 21-23 in what wound up being Alex Cora’s last home series managing Boston. Fast forward to the Bronx from June 5-7, and the sides split, with the middle game getting postponed due to rain. For the Red Sox, their entire season started to turn around with a four-game sweep at Fenway from June 25-28. And for the Yankees, home field for this potential series was essentially wrapped up when they took three out of four from the Sox at the end of August to clinch the season series.
Will Aaron Judge be active for the Wild Card Series?
Yankees manager Aaron Boone all but ruled out Judge (right calf strain) for the Wild Card round in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday.
“We’re planning on him not being a part of that,” said Boone.
But Judge created some hope on Wednesday when he said he was doing everything he could to be ready to go.
Which health situations should be monitored as the regular season winds down?
Contreras sustained a badly bruised knuckle between his right ring finger and pinkie when he was hit by a pitch on Sept. 17. Fortunately, there was good news to report on Tuesday, as Tracy said the slugger took aggressive batting practice before the game, and the club is hopeful he can return at some point during the homestand.
As the week goes on, all eyes will be on Crochet, as noted above.
Rafaela, the Red Sox's All-Star center fielder, returned on Wednesday from a right quadriceps strain that kept him out for three weeks, but had to exit the game with right hamstring tightness after just two innings in the field and one at-bat. He thinks it was just a cramp. The Sox will find out more on Thursday.
How does the rotation line up for the Red Sox?
If not for the near season-long loss of Crochet to this point, the Game 1 starter wouldn’t be in question. Tracy reordered his rotation for the upcoming series, going with Tolle on Tuesday against the Guardians, followed by Gray on Wednesday. Both pitchers performed well, and Suarez will take the ball on Thursday. Could this be the same order the Sox open the playoffs with? Tracy isn’t ready to reveal those plans yet.
How much postseason experience does Boston’s projected roster have?
Contreras and Chapman both won World Series rings while playing for the 2016 Cubs. Chapman added another one with the Rangers in ‘23. Kiner-Falefa was with Toronto last season, meaning he got to play in the epic Dodgers-Blue Jays World Series, losing one of the most dramatic Game 7s ever.
Rutschman played in five postseason games during his time with the Orioles, but none beyond the Division Series. Several players in Boston’s young core got their first taste of postseason experience last year in Abreu, Rafaela and Duran. Durbin went to the NLCS with the Brewers in ‘25. Houck and Whitlock are the only players remaining on the Boston team that came two wins from making the World Series in ‘21. Veteran shortstop Story had a solid Wild Card Series in the Bronx last year.
Suarez (4-1, 1.48 ERA in 11 outings, eight starts) had his share of October moments in Philadelphia, and Gray has a 3.26 ERA in six career playoff starts.