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.

Over the past couple of months, the Red Sox have firmly established themselves as something nobody outside their walls expected they would be: Contenders.

Now, the fun really starts with the post-All-Star break portion of Boston¡¯s season, which starts on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Red Sox (53-42) open the second half leading the Royals (52-45) by two games for the final American League Wild Card spot and sitting 4 1/2 games back of the Orioles (58-38) in the AL East.

Manager Alex Cora has made his expectations clear.

¡°So far, so good, but we have bigger goals than having a good first part of the season,¡± said Cora. ¡°We¡¯re 4 1/2 games back from the lead in the East. That's what we're shooting for. The whole talk about the Wild Card and all that -- it should be in the past. Let¡¯s think big and see what happens.¡±

Here¡¯s a breakdown of what¡¯s ahead for the Sox:

Second-half goal: Make the postseason
The Red Sox haven¡¯t participated in the postseason in four of the past five seasons, and the clear goal this year is to end their two-year drought. In the offseason, the Sox made the decision to lean into their youth movement rather than make big external additions. Thus far, the strategy has worked and now the club would love to see players such as All-Star Game MVP Jarren Duran, David Hamilton, Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela play meaningful games in September and October.

Likely Trade Deadline strategy: Picking a lane (buyers)
One thing former Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom took criticism for with his final two Trade Deadlines was hedging on buying or selling. Current chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said that he will be definitive in picking a lane -- and it sure seems like it will be a buying lane. Boston could use a starting pitcher, a righty setup reliever and a right-handed bat to bolster the club for the stretch run.

¡°I think this team has put themselves in a position where we have to take them seriously,¡± Breslow said recently on NESN. ¡°We need to be thinking about opportunities for us to improve the club.¡±

Key player: 1B Triston Casas
Already one of the biggest surprises with their performance before the All-Star break, the Red Sox figure to be even more dangerous once they get a healthy Casas back from his prolonged absence due to torn cartilage in his left rib cage. Casas was expected to be a cornerstone in Boston¡¯s lineup this season, but he hasn¡¯t played since April 20. August seems like a realistic timetable for Casas, who would make an already strong lineup even better.

Prospect to watch: SS Marcelo Mayer
After battling injuries the past couple of seasons, Boston¡¯s No. 1 prospect (and the No. 7 prospect overall, per MLB Pipeline) is healthy and putting together a fine season for Double-A Portland. Don¡¯t be surprised if Mayer gets promoted to Triple-A Worcester soon.

It¡¯s not out of the realm of possibility that Mayer could make it to Fenway by September. If not, he will be heavily on the radar in Spring Training.