What to look for from Red Sox in second half

This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Will the real 2023 Red Sox please stand up?

Manager Alex Cora’s team has alternated between hot and cold, and its latest stretch of solid baseball has it at 48-43 coming out of the All-Star break. Too often, the Red Sox have followed a streak like that with a tough one that brings them back to .500 or even a game or two below.

If the Sox are going to avoid missing the playoffs for the fourth time in the past five seasons, they need to start being consistent.

“I mean, we're playing good baseball [lately],” Cora said. “You know, I think offensively, there's a lot of guys doing a lot of good things now. For a month and a half, we didn't hit with men in scoring position. But the line was moving. The guys are driving them in now and it's a good feeling, but we’ve got work to do. We’re still last in the American League East.”

Not by much, though. Boston trails fourth-place New York by just a game and third-place Toronto by two games. The Sox are also just two games behind for the third Wild Card spot.

One key will be health. The Sox currently have three starters on the injured list -- Chris Sale, Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock. The sooner the club gets one or two of those pitchers back, the better. Using an opener twice every five or so games simply isn’t sustainable.

Trevor Story should also be back by early August, and he adds offense, defense and speed.

Here is a primer to get you ready for the final 71 games of the season, starting with Friday night’s game at Wrigley Field.

What we learned in the first half: Yoshida’s skill set plays in MLB

There were people outside the Red Sox organization who questioned if Masataka Yoshida’s skill set would play in MLB when the Red Sox signed him to a five-year, $90-million contract in December.

Those questions have been answered.

Yoshida was one of the best hitters on the Red Sox in the first half, and one of the most pure hitters in the game. He closed the half with seven consecutive multihit games.

Yoshida has a keen eye and doesn’t strike out much (.382 OBP, 27 walks, 36 strikeouts). The one thing Cora has realized is that he needs to make sure Yoshida gets enough rest as he adapts to the more rigorous playing schedule in MLB.

Likely Trade Deadline strategy: Balancing act

The club’s play for the rest of July will have a lot to do with how chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom approaches the Trade Deadline. Whether they are in buy or sell mode, don’t be surprised if the Sox offload a position player to alleviate the logjam so that center fielder Jarren Duran -- the team’s most improved player by a wide margin -- can play every day.

The one sure thing if the Sox stay in the race is that Bloom will try to add starting pitching to a rotation that has been decimated by injuries. If they fall out of it, the Sox have a lot of veteran players on short-term deals who might interest other teams, including Adam Duvall, James Paxton and Justin Turner.

Key player: Trevor Story

There is much anticipation for the return of Story, who had an internal bracing procedure on his right elbow in January and is expected to be ready to play for Boston in August.

Story is going back to his original position of shortstop and his arm strength appears to be much improved from what it was before surgery. He also gives the Red Sox another impact hitter from the right side of the plate, which has been a big need all season.