“There’s still work to do,” manager Alex Cora said before Boston’s game against the Astros on Friday. “He’s still a work in progress. He’s gotten better. The numbers show that. There’s a few things under the hood that we still need to get better at.” Cora said there are areas, both offensively and defensively, where he must improve.

The Boston Red Sox were relatively quiet at the MLB trade deadline, only acquiring pitchers Dustin May and Steven Matz.