The MLB trade deadline is almost here, and the Red Sox enter August in an uncertain position. The club is currently below the playoff cutline, but has also been playing great baseball over the past month to fight its way back into the hunt.
With Trevor Story, Chris Sale and other key players nearing returns from the injured list, the Red Sox are expected to buy, but what exactly the club will do remains a mystery.
So what should fans expect in the next few hours? Here is where things stand as of early Tuesday afternoon.
Entering Tuesday the Red Sox are 56-50 on the season and 2.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the last American League Wild Card spot. Boston is also 3.5 back of the Houston Astros, holds a half-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels and is one game up on the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners.
The Red Sox were among baseball’s hottest teams in July, going 15-8 over the course of the month, but the club also finished on a down note after losing three straight heading into deadline day.
The Red Sox need starting pitching.
For nearly a month now the Red Sox have been operating with a three-man rotation and a parade of openers. Though Nick Pivetta and Chris Murphy have shined in their bulk relief roles, the current set-up likely isn’t sustainable and the Red Sox will need help, at least until Chris Sale, Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock are able to return from their respective injuries.
Luckily there is no shortage of starting pitching on the trade market, but a lot of the top arms are pending free agents, and Bloom has indicated his preference would be to add an arm with multiple years of team control.
Among the big names being discussed are Mets ace Justin Verlander, Tigers starters Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Lorenzen and Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty, though none had been linked to the Red Sox as of noon on Tuesday. Boston could also push for a reunion with Rich Hill, who despite being 43 has made 22 starts and thrown 119 innings for Pittsburgh.
The Red Sox are currently in a situation where seven of their best nine batters are either outfielders or corner infielders, a setup that has forced manager Alex Cora to either sit one of his best hitters most days or play 38-year-old veteran Justin Turner at second base, a position he hasn’t played regularly since 2015.
In order to streamline the roster the club is expected to move a player from that group, and outfielder Adam Duvall is generally considered the most likely candidate. Duvall is a pending free agent who has gotten back on track recently after a slow start coming back from his broken wrist, though the Red Sox are reportedly listening to offers for Alex Verdugo as well.
Verdugo isn’t a free agent until after 2024, however, and the Red Sox are expected to keep him at least through the rest of this season.
Boston’s other main trade candidate is starting pitcher James Paxton, who is set to hit free agency and who has been excellent since making his return after nearly three years lost to injury. Paxton’s re-emergence has been critical amid Boston’s rotation woes, but the Red Sox may decide it’s best to sell high and would most likely accompany the move with another deal for a controllable starter to take his place.
Bloom has worked tirelessly over the past four years to build up Boston’s organizational depth, and the result so far has been a vastly improved farm system with considerably more talent to draw from.
Though the Red Sox are unlikely to part with their top prospects, like shortstop Marcelo Mayer or outfielder Roman Anthony, there are a number of others who could be dealt.
The club currently has a logjam of standout middle infielders rising through the system, a group that includes former first round picks Nick Yorke and Mikey Romero, Blaze Jordan, Chase Meidroth, Brainer Bonaci and Eddinson Paulino. The Red Sox could conceivably move one or two of them to bolster the big league club without significantly setting back their long-term plans.
Boston could also deal from its group of prospects who are set to become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Last year the club traded away former top pitching prospect Jay Groome in such a deal, and this year the club could also opt to capitalize on some players who aren’t likely to be added to the 40-man roster and could be lost for nothing in a similar fashion to Thad Ward last winter.
That pool includes fast-rising pitchers Luis Perales and Wikelman Gonzalez, along with Bonaci, Paulino and numerous others.
Tampa Bay made a big splash on Monday by trading for Cleveland Guardians starter Aaron Civale, a 28-year old righty who currently has a 2.34 ERA and remains under team control through 2025. The Rays only gave up one prospect, hard-hitting first baseman Kyle Manzardo, to complete the deal.
Civale seemed a perfect fit for the Red Sox as a young arm who could serve as a building block into the future, but instead he’ll join a chief rival and shore up a Tampa Bay club that has struggled throughout July.
Among the other notable deals, Texas has gone all-in by trading for Mets ace Max Scherzer and Cardinals lefty Jordan Montgomery to shore up its injury-riddled rotation, and Toronto replaced injured closer Jordan Romano by adding Jordan Hicks from the Cardinals.
More moves are expected through the rest of the afternoon leading up to the 6 p.m. trade deadline.