MLB insider gives blunt projection of Red Sox trade deadline approach
What will the Red Sox trade deadline approach be? MLB insider Ken Rosenthal gives his assessment.
Just over a month away from the MLB trade deadline, the players and coaches of the Boston Red Sox have done a great job in recent weeks of showing the organizations decision-makers the team is worth investing in. They’ve won three games in a row, eight of their last nine, and 10 of their last 12 – a stretch continued on Monday night in walk-off fashion.
Heading into Tuesday night’s slate of games the Sox are 43-36, which has them in the final of three Wild Card spots in the American League, and just half a game back of the Minnesota Twins for the second spot. This is ahead of a favorable portion of their schedule – over the next few weeks (and all before the trade deadline) they’ll face the Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Miami Marlins, Oakland A’s, Kansas City Royals, and Colorado Rockies.
Now the question is, will the front office take the nessesary next steps? While the Red Sox have been playing good baseball, they do have their holes on the roster. Trade deadline acquisitions could make a difference both down the stretch and potentially in the postseason.
On Tuesday, longtime MLB insider Ken Rosenthal was asked about the Red Sox trade deadline approach in an appearance on Foul Territory. He shared mixed expectations.
“From last offseason – starting then – they have been a team that seemingly does not want to try,’ Rosenthal stated. “Well guess what? Your team’s actually better than you thought it was going to be. It’s better than you deserve it to be – and I’m talking about their ownership right now.”
“So at this stage, as well as they’re playing, and as interesting as they are, I would expect that they will buy and that they will maybe do two things at once – they can trade some of their potential free agents, perhaps, and bring in other players,” Rosenthal said. “That’s not out of the question for them.”
That strategy certainly wouldn’t be out of character for a Red Sox trade deadline, based on recent years. The last two seasons the Red Sox have failed to make a major splash at the deadline. In 2022 they did the ‘buy and sell’ strategy adding Reese McGuire and rentals Tommy Pham and Eric Hosmer while trading away catcher and clubhouse leader Christian Vazquez. That team was .500 at the break.
Last year, despite being in the playoff picture at six games over .500 and two and a half games out of a Wild Card spot, the Red Sox trade deadline didn’t include any major moves. Their biggest deal was adding infielder Luis Urias, who had spent a good amount of time up to that point that season in the minors.
Of course this year the Red Sox have new leadership in the front office, with Craig Breslow replacing Chaim Bloom as the president of baseball operations. Rosenthal said he is hoping to see more from this front office.
“My goodness, when you play like this and you’ve got Alex Cora in the last year of his contract, you’re obligated, in my opinion, to make an effort here,” Rosenthal exclaimed. “The thing is, they haven’t shown that they’ve wanted to make an effort – ownership, that is – since last offseason. So they’re a team to watch in my opinion, because if they don’t honor what their players and their manager and coaching staff have done here – and I’m talking again, they is ownership – if they don’t do that well then shame on them.”
So, what would ‘making an effort’ look like in a Red Sox trade deadline? The Red Sox have a couple of key needs, highlighted by starting pitching, a middle infielder, and/or a right-handed hitter. Designated hitter could also be a need with Masataka Yoshida struggling to stay in the lineup.
The Red Sox also could try a ‘buy and sell’ approach again. One name that has come up in that regard is closer Kenley Jansen. Jansen has improved after a tough start to the season, but is 36-years-old and entering a contract year. Moving him to a higher-level contender for a younger but MLB-ready relief pitcher with multiple years of team control could make sense, or for multiple MLB-caliber relievers to stretch out the bullpen.
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