McAdam: 2018 Red Sox regular season report card

Before the Red Sox embark on the postseason and all the uncertainty that entails, a look back at the long, six-month regular season, with grades handed out for the roster:

Head of the class

A+

Mookie Betts: What didn't he do? Betts was a supreme leadoff hitter, unrivaled baserunner and peerless defender. A true five-tool weapon who deserves to be recognized as AL MVP.
J.D. Martinez: Martinez was the league's best run producer and doubled as the team's third hitting coach. His impact was gigantic.

A

Chris Sale: The American League's best starter for the first four months, limited by injury in August and September. Healthy, he can be the most dominant and intimidating starter in either league.
Alex Cora: Changed the culture in the clubhouse, ramped up the organization's analytics use and set a record for most wins by a first-time manager.

A-

Xander Bogaerts: Re-established himself as one of the elite offensive shortstops while becoming much more reliable at short.
Steve Pearce: The perfect role player, obtained to bolster the lineup when it was struggling against lefties. He finished with a .901 OPS with the Sox and did everything that was asked of him.

B+

Andrew Benintendi: A streaky season to be sure, with an alarming second-half drop-off in power (two homers, .384 slugging percentage). But 103 runs, 41 doubles and four defensive runs saved in left field are not to be discounted.
Ryan Brasier: Not only the best story of the year, but an invaluable bullpen piece (1.60 ERA; .772 WHIP) in the second half.
David Price: Sure, there were those two notorious starts against the Yankees, but Price was durable (30 starts) and consistent (3.58 ERA) in what was clearly his best season in Boston.
Craig Kimbrel: The numbers weren't as eye-popping as last year, but that may have been an impossible standard. Still had 42 saves and averaged 13.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

B

Dave Dombrowski: Signing Martinez was a stroke of genius. Getting Eovaldi and Pearce mid-season was helpful. And he did oversee a roster that won 108 games. But did he miss a chance to make his team champions by not upgrading a suspect bullpen?
Rick Porcello: The ERA (4.28) won't wow anyone, but the 191.1 innings pitched should, along with his penchant for saving his best starts for the toughest opponents. His August start against the Yankees was a masterpiece.

B-

Matt Barnes: As was the case last year, there was a significant decline in the second half -- no doubt, worsened by his hip injury -- but for much of the season, he was the most dependable eighth-inning weapon in the bullpen.
Nathan Eovaldi: A nice deadline acquisition when the rotation was thinned by injuries. It didn't hurt that he showed himself to be a Yankee-killer, with no earned runs allowed in 16 innings pitched.

MIDDLE OF THE PACK

C+

Eduardo Rodriguez: Enigmatic as always, and using his stuff as a measure, underachieving, too. It may be time to admit that this is who he is.
Hector Velazquez: Hard to believe he was technically a rookie; valuable as a spot starter and bullpen piece.
Brandon Workman: After a disappointing spring, he was forgotten in the first half, buried at Triple-A. His ERA was bloated by two poor September outings, but generally, pretty effective.
Jackie Bradley Jr.: Almost inept offensively for the first two months before his season turned at the plate. Meanwhile, he played his usually standout defense in center.
Brock Holt: Put his concussion problems behind him and re-established himself as a solid utility man, with increased thump in the final two months.

C

Brian Johnson: Versatile and competitive, he helped save the rotation at times by providing spot starts. He was less effective in relief.
Mitch Moreland: The Red Sox thought Moreland might be ready for a career season when they DFA'd Hanley Ramirez. That didn't happen, as Moreland had his typical season.
Sandy Leon: He was sublime behind the plate and virtually hapless at it -- add it up, and you get an average grade.

C-

Heath Hembree: For much of the season, Hembree was terrific with runners on base. That ceased to be true in the last two months.
Eduardo Nunez: Nunez was clearly not himself in the first half thanks to his knee issues and was overmatched at second. He was far more reliable at third and started driving the ball more in the final two months.
Rafael Devers: Flashes of power and the occasional spectacular play at third are balanced out with a team-high 24 errors and too many at-bats given away. He failed to take the expected step forward in his first full season.
Blake Swihart: He was the forgotten man for the first two months before he started getting some opportunities behind the plate and around the field, and better at-bats followed.

PLEASE SEE ME

D+

Ian Kinsler: In his first week after joining the Red Sox, Kinsler looked like a fantastic deadline acquisition. But after straining his hamstring, he was never the same in the field or with the bat.

D

Tyler Thornburg: In July, he was impressive enough that the Sox didn't trade for bullpen help. Turns out, it was an illusion.

D-

Christian Vazquez: Hugely disappointing season with a .540 OPS and sometimes sloppy play behind the plate.

F

Drew Pomeranz: A colossal disappointment who never rebounded from a forearm setback in the spring. How much money did he cost himself in his walk year?

INC

Robby Scott; William Cuevas; Dustin Pedroia; Brandon Phillips; Sam Travis; Tzu-Wei Lin; Carson Smith