There’s now just three weeks until the July 30 trade deadline and many clubs will have to decide whether to buy or sell or a mix of both. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow recently appeared on today’s episode of the Fenway Rundown podcast with hosts Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam, with Cotillo and McAdam both writing up columns at MassLive after the podcast.
Perhaps most notably, Breslow suggested that the Sox would pick a buy/sell lane, as opposed to trying to walk a fine line between the two paths. “The lane that we pick is going to be dictated by a host of considerations and none more meaningful than what is happening on the field,” Breslow said. “So I’m still adamant and committed to picking a lane. We’re going to get more and more information over the next couple of weeks. But the one thing that we can do that helps steer that direction is to win as many games as possible on the field.”
Choosing how to approach a deadline can be a tricky one for a front office executive, as Breslow himself highlights. “My job is different than the job Alex (Cora) has or the job that the players have, whereas they can be almost singularly focused on doing everything that they need to do to prepare to win that night’s game, I have to think about how we can best be positioned to win tonight’s game and tomorrow’s game and next year’s game. Trying to balance all of those things is is difficult at times.”
That difficulty sometimes leads decision makers to try to opt for a mix of buying and selling, something that Red Sox fans are surely familiar with. In 2022, the club was hovering around .500 as the deadline approached. Then-CBO Chaim Bloom traded Christian Vázquez to the Astros for Wilyer Abreu and Enmanuel Valdéz in the most clearcut “sell” move but also held onto impending free agents Nathan Eovaldi, Xander Bogaerts, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill and J.D. Martinez, while “buying” by acquiring Tommy Pham from the Reds and Eric Hosmer from the Padres.
That plan didn’t work out in the short term, as the Sox slid further back in the race down the stretch and also struggled in 2023, which led to Bloom being fired and replaced by Breslow. The Vázquez deal looks better in hindsight with Abreu becoming a valuable contributor while Valdez has served a multi-positional role on the club, but the hindsight also cuts both ways as the decision to not trade the other candidates looks unwise now.
Given the frustration of that deadline, perhaps it’s refreshing that Breslow is declaring that he will lean into one camp or the other, though he still hasn’t decided between the two paths. The club is 49-40 and currently holding the final Wild Card spot in the American League, with teams like the Royals, Astros and Rays not far behind. As Breslow mentioned, the results in the next few weeks will help him make his decision on how to play his cards prior to the deadline.
If the Sox remain in a playoff spot, it seems fair to expect Breslow will pick the buyer lane and he gave some clues as to what he might be looking to do in that scenario. He used the “You can never have too much pitching” cliché and also mentioned a right-handed bat as a possibility.
“You can never have too much pitching. You’re always an injury away or, a handful of unfortunate outings away from being in a hole and, at times when you don’t have starting pitching depth to get through the second half of the season, that places a pretty significant burden on a bullpen,” Breslow said of the logic of looking for pitching. In terms of the offense, he says that the club is “also pretty left-handed heavy (from an offensive standpoint). The chance to maybe look to add some right-handed offense could make sense.”
The Sox currently have a rotation consisting of Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Josh Winckowski. Houck was quite dominant earlier in the season but his results have slipped a bit in recent weeks. He had an earned run average of 1.91 after his outing on June 6 but a 5.19 ERA over his five most recent starts. That could be random variation but it’s also possible that there’s some fatigue setting in since his tally of 111 innings this year is already a personal best at the big league level. Winckowski and Crawford are somewhat similar, as neither has gone much beyond the 130-inning range before. Bello has a 5.19 ERA while Pivetta has good strikeout/walk ratios but with ongoing home run problems keeping his ERA above 4.00.
Overall, the rotation has been a strength this year, as Boston starters have a collective 3.59 ERA that is seventh-best in the majors. But there are some question marks in there and the depth isn’t amazing. That’s thanks in part to Lucas Giolito, Garrett Whitlock and Chris Murphy all requiring season-ending UCL surgery. Chase Anderson is in the bullpen as a long man but has a 4.89 ERA despite a very lucky .203 batting average on balls in play. Bryan Mata is on a rehab assignment but has mostly been pitching in stints of two to three innings. Brandon Walter has been on the injured list all year. Cooper Criswell has been pretty good this year but Brad Keller has had fairly tepid results.
All told, there would be plenty of sense in adding to that group, especially if any of their current rotation members are going to hit any kind of workload limits. Cora recently spoke to McAdam for a piece at MassLive about providing breathers to the club’s starters, though those plans haven’t been finalized yet. And as Breslow mentioned, an injury could happen at any time and increase the need. Some pitchers that could be available at the deadline include Garrett Crochet, Erick Fedde, Tyler Anderson, Griffin Canning, Yusei Kikuchi, Cal Quantrill, Austin Gomber and Trevor Rogers, among others.
As for the lineup, as Breslow said, it skews left-handed. Tyler O’Neill, Connor Wong and Ceddanne Rafaela are the only right-handed hitters on the club who have stepped to the plate 180 times or more this year. Getting another righty in there could balance things out but the most obvious spot to upgrade would be first base and the club could have Triston Casas coming back. “You go around position-by-position and you look at where we haven’t gotten the production that, that we would need,” Breslow said. “And obviously Triston is a huge loss that we need to overcome, but it seems like his rehab is going and we would expect him back.”
The Sox have received a tepid slash of .226/.316/.384 from the first base slot this year, which translates to a 94 wRC+ that is 19th-best in the league. That includes strong work from Casas, who slashed .244/.344/.513 in 22 games before landing on the injured list due to torn cartilage in his midsection. Dominic Smith has taken most of the playing time in the absence of Casas but has hit just .227/.327/.355. Both Smith and Casas are lefties, so the return of the latter wouldn’t change the lefty-righty balance but it should nonetheless upgrade the overall offense if Casas is healthy and back to his old self. Casas has not yet begun a rehab assignment but is taking dry swings and could progress to hitting off a tee this week, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe on X.
If the Sox try to get another righty bat onto the roster regardless, some of the potential candidates would include Luis Robert Jr., Taylor Ward, Brent Rooker, Justin Turner, Danny Jansen and others, with other clubs perhaps pivoting to selling in the coming weeks and making other bats available.
As for whether the Sox could take on money at the deadline, Breslow was optimistic on that front. “Anytime that I’ve been around,” he said, “or been aware of this team being in contention, playing meaningful games, staring down a potential playoff run, the resources have been there. I don’t anticipate this even going any differently.”
Per the payroll data at Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Sox were among the biggest spenders in the league for most of this century but have pulled on the reins more recently. As recently as 2019, they had the top payroll in the majors but came into this year 12th with an Opening Day mark of $171MM. For competitive balance tax purposes, the club’s number is currently at $208MM per the calculations of Cot’s and $218MM in the eyes of Roster Resource.
The lowest tier of the CBT is $237MM this year, so the Sox should have ample room to take on money even if they want to stay under that line. Though that’s also contingent on Breslow’s framing of the club’s willingness to spend real dollars being correct.
no. hahahaha and buy low? He made another all star team. If you’re trolling you need to try harder than that.
The Orioles couldn’t even afford to pay him. Who is he kidding?
yea piss poor trolling from you it is.
And you pull out the pretending to be rich card wow dude your so cool we all worship you now
So you’re proud of being bad at being a troll. Good for you.
you think was funny? now you’re getting even more pathetic you’ve had enough negative attention for one day and now you seem to be sundowning.
awww you think that’s funny? I’ve got you so wound up that you can’t help yourself but reply even though humor isn’t really a skill of yours. Just an FYI that when you start acting this desperate and thirsty it’s embarrassing.
I’m not angry just pointing out your follies. And telling me how I feel actually did get a laugh of me so good job there. Also Way to almost use vibe check correctly in this context though.
In fairness I guess I don’t know you’re trolling. I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt because I didn’t want to assume you’re this stupid and disagreeable on the internet or in real life. But Perhaps you’re not trolling.
People who fight with trolls and think they’re “winning”
People who don’t get that they’re not fighting with trolls but making fun of them.
Yeah that simp icon guy was the biggest troll glad he got banned you probably couldn’t stand him either
The way he keeps talking means to me they are not going to make a big move. More of the same with no action Sox
Devers isn’t going anywhere even if the Red Sox do sell. Are you out of your mind?
Bass – I don’t blame Fletch for thinking Devers is available, considering how much talk there’s been around here about getting rid of him.
But yeah, it ain’t happening as long as he continues to put up the numbers he’s been putting up and playing a tolerable 3B.
only if the Sox can also pay off what’s left of Chris Davis’s winner of a contract.
more lies from Fever pitch guy, There’s been no talk around here outside of him and maybe Trolled/KD17 about getting rid of Devers
For me, all the speculation has been about either moving him across the diamond, displacing Casas, or displacing Yoshida at DH.
In my mind, they should have signed Matt Chapman and figured it out.
So overpay for a guy who’s had disappointing offensive numbers for the past 2-3 years? no thanks
Giain’ts grossly over paid for Chapman.
There has been a lot of talk including from me how the defense has to improve. That said Devers was overpaid and thought by me to be not movable. However Duran’ s turnaround has been remarkable and Devers recently has been above average at third. Dom Smith has also been better than expected. Hopefully Valdez does not return as he continued to be a weak spot with the glove. Devers though is playing like a leader. His decision not to go to the ASG speaks volumes. It is important to the team he gets a few days to rest as until Casas returns, he is the most important player in the lineup. Finally, the Sox do need a righty bat and Turner fits their budget and needs. While I doubt a complete return to last year would happen, a change of scenery might help and I’d take 75%.
If they need a right-handed bat, Thomas from the Nationals could very well be the Lane they pick.
Arm – The following statement from Breslow means he either wasn’t truly aware of the past, or he flat-out lied. Because absolutely ownership told Bloom last year no more additional payroll prior to the deadline.
“Anytime that I’ve been around or been aware of this team being in contention, playing meaningful games, staring down a potential playoff run, the resources have been there. I don’t anticipate this even going any differently.”
Breslow’s “been around” means when he was a Red Sox pitcher in 2006 and 2012-2015, he’s right about that back then.
But he wouldn’t have a clue what went down in the front office during the Bloom years, other than what guys like Henry, Werner and Kennedy told him …. which obviously was 100% crap.
@FPG. You don’t need to add to payroll if you are trading Jans3n, O’Neill, and Martin. Toss in a bad contract swap of Yoshi and trading one of the extra 2b prospects and you can improve the team without spending more and without blowing up up the future.
Will it be easy? No. But Breslow is supposed to be the smartest guy on the planet. Time for him to go to the desert with his chalk borad and return with a working bomb.
DBH – Going ahead and trading those players would be contradictory to his “pick a lane” stance.. So I really think they either become sellers or they do nothing at all …. I’m leaning toward nothing at all, just like last year.
They’ll get a righthanded bench player and a non-impact pitcher, that’s about it …. purely aesthetics to make it “appear” they are GFIN.
“Because absolutely ownership told Bloom last year no more additional payroll prior to the deadline.”
Another lie. How would he know, and how does that effect this year? Red Sox are 18M below cap right now. They would certainly be will to add another 12-15M, they just dont want to break the first threshold.
You’re currently 9 games over .500, holding a playoff spot. You state that you haven’t decided whether you’re going all out to win this year.
This is Major League Baseball, the highest level of a professional sport whose primary objective for playing is to WIN. This is what we get with “The Model”. You are either all in or you cash out half way through the season. Good grief.
“9 games over
.500″…It’s very difficult to disagree with your sentiment and points. The Redsox front office & ownership are more like politicians and spin doctors these days than team owners desperate to win.
atmos – Totally agree, but history has shown ownership doesn’t care about winning.
Last year on July 28 they were 9 games over .500 and just one loss out of a WC spot and playing well. But ownership told Bloom no more spending so they didn’t add anybody prior to the deadline except garbage Luis Urias. The decision devastated the team, and they immediately went into a freefall after learning ownership didn’t have faith in them.
The Red Sox need to decide, and have probably already decided, how may innings the young starting pitchers will throw this year. If Bello, Houck and Crawford are going to be shut down early, then a deep playoff run is not happening and it is better to sell.
So many dumb comments here like the island of misfit boys these are 3 pitchers 25, 28 and 31 years old not 20 year Olds like you claim Bello pitched 157 innings last year and is on pace for same pivetta 179 in 2022 on pace for much fewer none are getting shut down if innings was a concern they’d be doing 6 man rotation give Cora Bailey breslow some credit they aren’t idiots making dumb comments on a website
Innings pitched is certainly a consideration, especially for Bello and probably for Houck with his injury history.
In his defense, Sox were in a winning position the last two years and look what happened. The season is long and far from over.
I don’t believe FPG is right about Bloom not spending money… pretty sure that is fabricated.
FPG has no idea what ownership said to Bloom or anyone else…just like the rest of us.
It’s a business first, the primary objective is to make money
Big – If money is spent wisely, revenue and therefore profit goes up.
The Yankees basically broke even last year because money was poorly spent, otherwise they could have had a huge profit.
Pretty pathetic ownership and front office if they decide to sell with a team performing so well. So what if they’re overachieving, they banked the wins already and getting another piece ir two will make sure they stay alive.
I highly doubt they sell at the deadline. This is the Red Sox not the Mariners.
The Mariners aren’t going to sell at the deadline. Last year we traded our closer for our current third baseman and right fielder, so I don’t really see that as selling either (plus we had a loaded bullpen).
That trade worked out for the Mariners for sure. But it was still a sellers move.
Mariners also traded Robbie Ray, which was more of a “sell” move
Yeah Ray deal also was a sellers move although again it was a good trade. Getting out of that contract was good for them.
That’s where I disagree. I think Ray is still of value
Ray could certainly come back and provide some value but his contract is ugly. He signed it coming off a great year he since had a bad year and then got hurt.
Lane Thomas? The fast lane the slow lane what lane?
Unpopular opinion but Manfred has made baseball significantly more interesting with the expanded playoff format and later trade deadline.
Yes very unpopular opinion.
Think they should give every team a participation trophy for playing all 162g as well. Makes as much sense as allowing 1/3 total teams into the post season.
NFL 14 teams, Basketball 16 teams, Hockey 16 teams, Baseball 12.
Basketball and Hockey take three months for the playoffs . That’s ridiculous. I went on a month and half vacation to Europe and the Celtics were in the second round. I was home in time to watch them win the Finals. That’s ridiculous.
That’s fascinating.
It’s not if TV ratings and gate receipts are up for contending playoffs teams. Whiners gonna whine.
Right ! Playoff atmosphere is on a whole nother level than reg season. More is better
drasco – The trade deadline hasn’t changed much at all, and actually is earlier than usual this year (July 30 instead of July 31).
Also an argument can be made the game is less interesting than it was with the expanded postseason. As a result you have weaker teams qualifying for the postseason, and division titles have become almost meaningless. Never again will we see all-out battles for division titles like the 1978 Yankees/Red Sox season.
The Braves and Phillies will both make the postseason, so who cares about which team finishes first? It’s kinda sad September doesn’t matter nearly as much anymore, and it’s all about money as usual.
Fever,
Let me guess, you’re over 50.
It’s true that less people care about divisional races but the fact that more teams are fighting for a playoff spot makes it significantly more interesting to more fan bases. There is a lot more chat on social media platforms about what teams should/shouldn’t do because there is a lot more reason to debate.
Only people who look at baseball in a vacuum, such as yourself, see baseball as being “more interesting” without the wildcard teams. Baseball is more interesting on the macro level now, not the micro. It isn’t geared for individual fan bases, it can’t be. Manfred understands this and Selig did not.
The fact of the matter is baseball would still be dying its slow death, possibly dead already if not for the steroid era, if Manfred didn’t modernize the game.
People without business minds just don’t get it. Rules have to be in place so guys like Judge and Soto end up in New York. Betts and Ohtani in LA. Baseball has to be stretched across streaming platforms, it has to be talked about as much as possible on social media fronts. For baseball to survive it has to be ran as business, like the NFL. It has to be marketable and it has to be watchable and accessible with the younger generations.
A.) I’m in my 40s and one of my wife’s and I side business is running a digital marketing company. So, I’m going to go out on a limb and say I know a little bit more about you on the importance of social media when it comes to marketing as it relates to any business in addition to baseball.
B.) Selig nearly ruined baseball because he regionalized it vs Manfred who’s bringing it more not only to a national audience but an international one as well.
Selig also put rules in place that encourage tanking where Manfred is working in ways to correct it.
Feel free to tell me the ways Selig “modernized the game” more than the universal dh, the expanded playoffs, pitch clock, limiting shifting, bigger bases and so on. Manfred, like it or not, modified rules to adapt to the bigger, faster, more athletic, better coached and better scouted modern player.
How many teams right now are within 5 games of the final wildcard spot? Exactly, more fans are interested because more fans have hope of the playoffs. That also equates to more talk on outlets and social media.
Manfred works for the owners, that is true, but don’t act like he isn’t the guiding force for rule changes. His job is to make baseball more profitable, which he is doing.
drasco – So since you do marketing for a living, I don’t need to tell you the importance of knowing your target audience … correct?
I have a friend who markets a drink that reduces BAC. They market extensively via social media and use several influencers for promotion of the product. Why? Because their target audience is 20-somethings who go bar hopping and partying far more than any other demographic. And what’s the best way to reach 20-somethings? Social media.
But that is simply not the case with baseball’s target audience. Baseball has always appealed more to an older and more conservative demographic who typically doesn’t use social media all that much.
I could list a TON of ways that baseball was modernized and became more profitable while Selig was commissioner, but why would I do that if you still insist on giving credit to the commissioner himself? I suppose you think Manfred came up with the pitch clock, even though it’s common knowledge Theo was the driving force behind it. Manfred is a mouthpiece, nothing more.
As for profitability, just read this Forbes article.
forbes.com/sites/leighsteinberg/2013/09/28/selig-r…
I’ve already pointed out there’s virtually no difference between WC2 and WC3, when they added WC3 it brought them even closer to mediocre teams which is where the majority of teams reside. So naturally teams fighting for a third WC won’t have much better chances than they would fighting for a second WC. Look at the standings for once and you’ll see how many teams are hovering around .500
Do you know what “targeted audience” actually means? It’s not the people who, in this case, watch baseball. It’s the people you WANT to watch baseball.
I’m not going to reply to the pitch clock comment because that is just too stupid. Same with the Wild Card. I get it though, you’re narrow minded, it’s fine. Keep fighting change. You said it yourself, you’re older and conservative, I.e. against progression. Enjoy your Clint Eastwood movies
narrow minded is a spot on description.
drasco – You’re clearly ignorant, but if you believe anyone doesn’t understand what the word “target” means then you have far more issues than we realized.
I gave a very specific detailed example of using social media to target 20-somethings for the detox beverage because they are the ones who get drunk most often. How that sailed above your head is beyond me, but considering how quickly and often you showed your hatred of people over 50 speaks volumes. You are a hardcore ageist, I hope your therapist can resolve your issues before you randomly attack some elderly woman for simply sharing the air that you breath.
I won’t even ask why you think the pitch clock is stupid, as you clearly don’t have all your faculties. The only one who is fighting anything is you by denying all the great improvements that happened prior to Manfred becoming commissioner. I’m guessing you have a poster of him in your basement room, scary stuff.
Yeah you keep thinking that all the “older” fans here who have welcomed the pitch clock, the universal DH, interleague play, pitcher roster limits, minimum batters faced requirements, and so many other changes are somehow “fighting change”.
Any psychiatrist you’ve already seen would point out you’re trying to justify your hatred of people over 50. Let’s hope your access to “older” people and small animals is very limited.
drascoo36 – Progress for the sake of progress. You must be under 50!!! Creating illusions to bring people with money into the ball park to be entertained not because they love baseball but they love being part of the spectacle. You are part of a generation that lives for entertainment not sport. Pitch clocks and Shot clocks so fans can get to their next distraction in life. It should be the motto of the shot clock. So many changes because the target audience is a mindless generation of over socialized people with money.
Did anyone take into account whether the poor folks who can’t afford tickets to the game and simply watch on the internet on their phone think of the numerous changes to the rules? NOPE. We let the elite big dollar folks who spend the money that pays the players the exorbitant salaries decide what parameters need to be met to make the game better.
Yes, a game should be defined by length of time that matches the attention span of a generation of non baseball fans that need new distractions in their lives so they can be well rounded rich people living full lives. All that while the blue collar folks huddle together and try to see if they can afford the cheapest seats and the local stadiums.
Your tirade on Fever is pure ignorance. Why? It’s called Age Discrimination. Sports started as an athletic competition and was played because people had talent that suited the rules of the game. The values of a generation were reflected in the rules and the game itself needed strong leaders at the top to keep the integrity of the game. 1919 showed the integrity of the commissioner in trying to limit cheating. He represented an era that is long gone from sports.
Changing the rules, selling out to gambling organizations and allowing cheating without punishment is the current generation of sports. We older people are as willing to dismiss our values so bad decisions can be marketed into being politically correct in the eyes of the fair weather fans.
When I read your last comment I was offended as a member of Fever’s generation and values. I also recognize when someone is completely wrong in their comments and chooses to call the opponent names to feel better about themselves. That weak debating but I don’t know do you even understand their used to be rules about debates too but some commissioner probably changed those too!! .
TF – Great response as always!
It amazes me how ageism is basically the only form of hatred and discrimination remaining here, and people like Drasco are allowed to immediately show their hatred of “older” people.
Funny thing is, he claims to be in his 40’s …. which means if true (highly unlikely though) then he himself will be hitting 50 soon enough. Then what will he have to say? LOLOL!!!
RSox can finish better than Royals/Rays/Mariners (if Hou wins ALW) in WC race just being a modest buyer.
Rays in the wild card race? Have you checked the standings?
Agreed. The writer cited Rays as “not far behind”, so included them in my argument that RSox don’t need to make a massive move like they are holding off juggernauts.
That sounds reasonable, thanks for the clarification
So, apparently the Sox fans don’t have an encyclopedic memory of past Oriole’s trades, for which they should be forgiven.
However, Devers wouldn’t have a spot on the O’s 26 man roster, which j think was the point of the joke, which also went over the Sox fans’ heads, which is a less forgivable fopaux.
We get the joke, it just stopped being mildly amusing several threads ago.
And if the O’s could get Devers they would have no problem creating a spot for him
Disagree completely. O’s value defense, need to allocate their resources to retaining their young talent (and perhaps resigning Burnes), and are the best hitting team in the league already with Mayo (potentially a younger, less expensive, harder hitting version of Devers) in 3A waiting for a spot on the 26 man.
Not saying Devers isn’t a good ball player. Only saying he isn’t a fit for the O’s for several reasons.
In fairness Rsox the joke was never funny to begin with. It was pathetic trolling that’s even beneath trolls like FPG and KD17, well maybe not but pretty close.
If the Orioles value defense so much they won’t move Westburg off of third to place the poor defensive Coby Mayo at third yet they probably will. Mayo is no upgrade defensively in fact whenever he is called up and plays the O’s defense will be significantly worse than it is right now.
Just – Fact is in the AL only Gunnar (and Judge of course) is a better hitter than Devers, the O’s have NOBODY else in the Top 12 for OPS with the closest being Westburg who is 136 points behind Devers.
Devers would be a huge offensive upgrade but this whole discussion about him getting traded is a massive waste of time.
Yes both jokes were pretty bad. Devers has decent shot at being league MVP this year. I know Henderson having a hell of year but Devers is right there with him.
He has relatively no shot of being league MVP this year.
Dumbest comment I’ve seen in a long time third best ops in the league fool.
I’m not sure why you poo-poo Devers as MVP. It’s way too early but if the Devers that we’ve seen the last few weeks is what we get the rest of the way, Boston will be the #1 WC. No one is laughing about his fielding right now and he should be walked every key at bat given his lack of protection. No disrespect to Wong or whoever is there behind him but it’s not protection. Let the year play out before you give out awards. Do I expect Devers to continue like this? No. Especially not in the field. If it does however and the pitching holds up, this team can win. They’re fun to watch right now and credit goes to the players. My concern though is if they win without increasing payroll, Henry will continues to limit overall spending.
dewey – Most people here don’t even realize Devers started the season hurt and batted only .188 with 2 HR and 5 RBI during the first 3 weeks of the season.
He gave everyone else a 3-week head start and he’s STILL got the 3rd-best numbers in the league right now.
Take away those first 3 weeks when he shouldn’t have even been playing, and he’s the clear cut MVP leader right now.
Late response Fever. In full agreement. The play Devers made last week in the 8th inning was beautiful to watch.
dewey – He’s made several nice plays, definitely improved from last year. Obviously the pitching staff hasn’t suffered because of his defense.
Rob. You are crazy for thinking you can talk smack in a red sox thread and not get a dose of reality for assuming this O’s team will do anything more than any of the rest have in the last 40 years….lets start a nineteen eighty-three chant shall we?..lol
I didnt say anything about what I think the O’s will do this year.
For what it’s worth, I think it’s tragic that they lost 3 arms (plus their closer last year) and that’s derailing the first season they’ve had a legit #1 (ignoring Bedard) and a legit shot at a WS since Mussina. Their pitching staff is a nightmare next year too (it looks better if they open the bank for Burnes); so probably have to hope for 26 as an O’s fan.
I also didn’t talk smack. Devers doesn’t fit on the O’s. That’s reality.
Just – So you’re saying Urias & Westburg would block Devers at 3B and he wouldn’t even be worthy of full-time DH.
Well alrighty then …
If they picked a lane in the offsesson perhaps they would still have Chris Sale. That has to be frustrating for Red Sox fans.
That’s in the rearview mirror. Red Sox have played better than expected so they work with what they have and is under the CBT line.
To be honest, not really. I always have to wonder about pitchers who suddenly start getting back on track with a new team. Would they have done the same with the original? Don’t get me wrong, this isn’s a sour grapes post. I’m happy for the guy and the trade truly has worked out best for the Braves. But I’m still hopeful Grissom will do something next year. If not then c’est la vie.
Sale was a good pitcher who has injury problems. I don’t see any reason he wouldn’t have had a good season for the Red Sox in 2024. And for him they got a guy who hasn’t helped at all.
“I don’t see any reason he wouldn’t have had a good season”…Just a bit of advice for rookie GM Breslow. Don’t trade with advanced GMs like Alex A. lest you get fleeced and end up paying Chris Sale big money, while the Braves reap the benefits.
I don’t think trading Sale would have been a mistake if the Red Sox “picked a lane” as the article suggests they are going to do now. He was a risk. So was the ONeill trade. Why trade for ONeill then deal away Sale? It just didn’t make sense at the time and now looks really dumb.
That guy (Grissom) they got will be here for years to come. It was a good gamble, even if we don’t see results now.
Only thing frustrating about sale is that it proves Atlanta is through and though a better organization than Red Sox. Sucks to admit it but it’s true.
Shouldn’t we wait to see if Sale can make it through the year before evaluating the trade? And see what Grissom does in his 6 years of control?
Nice low-effort, troll attempt. O’s can take that money to resign Adley and/or Gunnar in a few years.
You’re going to decide to ‘pick a lane’ when you’re currently the 3rd wildcard?
How about, instead, making a move sooner rather than waiting?
Even if the Red Sox sell… who do they actually sell where it would be a major detriment to the team this year? A large part of the core of Devers, Rafaela, Bello, Houck, Casas, Crawford, Duran, Wong, Abreu are still young and controllable or in some cases already signed so they aren’t moving unless it brings back immediate help as a larger deal.
That kinda leaves O’Neill (one year deal), Yoshida (underperforming), Pivetta (walk year), and Jansen (walk year). Pivetta only gets traded if the Red Sox decide they’re out. O’Neill, probably won’t net enough to make him worth trading. Yoshida won’t get enough interest. And Jansen… well if they think someone can take over as closer then why not trade him for something that can help.
As for buying… well yes, you can always have more and better pitching. But depending on what happens in the next few weeks I’d almost say the Red Sox shouldn’t make any major moves. This was a team that wasn’t supposed to compete and they’ve somehow created an identity. Might be worth standing pat even if it means risking losing out on the playoffs if it also means not sacrificing the future.
Yeah to me it seems tbey tipped their hat at buyers. Vlad jr and gausman would be the prize get. That ss is bouncing back this year in the minors and bello is under a good contract. Those 2 plus a couple more prospects and jays will have to consider
You never trade with a team in your own division. It’s very rare anyway. Toronto is not going to want to see Vladdy kick their a$$ 13 times a season and likewise Boston doesn’t want to see one of their prized prospects kicking their a$$ for the next 6 years as a Blue Jay.
Ignorant – I think it depends on how much longer is remaining on the traded player’s contract, or how much team control.
Rental players do get traded within the division, as Pearce did in 2018 and of course Dugie this year.
Can’t remember how many years left on the contracts of Clemens, Wells, Bush and Lloyd when they were traded between Toronto and the Yankees.
Well, trading in your division is okay if one team is a clear seller who is trading away rentals. It’s not like a team out of playoff contention cares if their former player beats up on them just for the remainder of that season.
In this particular example it wouldn’t happen, though.
most if not all teams take the best deal available at this point regardless of in vs out of division.
If they’re selling, anything they can get for guys like O’Neill and Yoshida is better than letting them walk for nothing.
Lanidrac – The big difference between the two is they’d be selling low on Yoshida and selling high on O’Neill.
They’d also have to eat some of Yoshida’s contract.
Casas, Criswell, Hendricks Grissom & Yorke could be better than anything on the trade market short of giving up 1 or 2 top prospects. I think they need to try Yorke at AAA 1b/3b and maybe he could be the RH bat that they hoped Dalbec could be. If they could get Evouldi for 2 second level prospects do it.
I think the Mets and Red Sox may match up well on a trade that can help each other out for this year. I am wondering if Quintana/low level prospect for Jansen may make sense for each other. Essentially swapping salaries and giving each other help in areas they both are seeking (starting pitching for Boston and relief for the Mets).
You want the Red Sox to weaken their bullpen and give up their All-Star closer while they’re fighting for a WC position?
I’m sorry to hear that Breslow is being forced to say they’ll either Buy OR Sell, which is what picking a lane means, I guess. But it looks to me that the Sox will be best served by dealing away some players (the team has played well enough without Chris Martin and Tyler O’Neill that they could go) while also looking to acquire players at positions of need with control–of course, every other club wants that, too, and the targets are few, and the competition will be fierce. It’s possible that this trade deadline is another uninspiring one just because of the numbers–but at least it won’t be because of Bloom’s intransigence or dithering.
How could they not be buyers?
Bello sucks again can’t even go 6 innings with a 9 run lead send him down
struck out 11 and probably should have come out of the game based on pitch count but yea send him down. Good thing you’re not the GM
ERA over 5 isn’t great in any circumstance. He has -.3 WAR. It’s not benefitting any party to have him pitch like this.
I said put him in the Minors but got a lot of push back earlier in the year for that. I said he should go to AAA and Winck should take his rotation spot.
You justifiably got that push back. Wink didn’t exactly light the world on fire as a starter so far either. Bello needs to keep working at the MLB
You are smarter than others except toll free this is bellos third year he keeps getting worse can’t blame Bush anymore bello is a headcase doesn’t even know how to remove gum
Still say send him to the Minors.
I agree about Winck, but he’s not as bad as Bello. Bello is odd man out.
None of Bello’s numbers in the Minors have correlated to MLB. He’s a completely different pitcher in MLB.
Troll free is one of the biggest trolls on this forum. Your point?
Right now I’d take Cooper Criswell. Send Bello down
Casas – He just signed a very long contract, so we are stuck with him.
He’s had two consecutive starts against bad teams. His next start will be against a good Royals team, then another easy matchup against the Rockies.
Let’s see if he can straighten out his head by then. I’ve been saying forever that it’s just mental with him, he proved that yet again with all the strikeouts in his last start before imploding again.
They might not buy if what they need costs too much. Are you prepared to trade a top 20 prospect for a half season of a slugger or starter? Marcelo Meyer for Nate Eovaldi, perhaps? If the team is a marginal playoff team, it doesn’t make sense to mortgage 6 years of control for a small bump in playoff probabilities for this year.
Any more hard feelings on missing the Bogaerts signing but instead getting Devers? I think Bloom made the right move. What about you, @Fever Pitch Guy? Still on the Bogaerts bandwagon?
They really should try to trade Yoshida… he’s taking up spots on the team and we don’t really need him. That won’t be easy though…
Despite their record, I’m not sold on the Sox. Their starting pitching just doesn’t make for something sustainable. They need pitching – go get Lorenzen from Texas and maybe someone from the Rays. But if they keep winning, they have to be buyers.
“Committed to picking a lane”..English translation of Bres-speak: “Just so we’re clear, we are completely committed to not making a lane decision right now, but when we do make a lane decision, we will decide at that time to pick one lane or the other lane”.
mlb – Really the whole “pick a lane” mantra is so stupid.
So let’s say the Sox become sellers, but have an opportunity to acquire at a reasonable cost a front-line starting pitcher with at least two more years of team control … they won’t make that trade because they are officially sellers?
Or lets say the Red Sox pick buyers and Abreu catches fire and O’Neill craters again while missing several days here and there because of his knee, but a team is willing to acquire him for a RHB that is team controlled through 2027 …. they won’t make that trade because they are officially buyers?
Moral of the story, why confine themselves to strictly buyers or strictly sellers? Just because they choose neither last year and both the year before doesn’t mean they should turn down good trade opportunities.
How bout bringing J. Turner back.. wouldn’t cost much and a true professional.. can play field…funny thing.. I want to add but not at the expense of the top prospects.. so that leaves us getting Brais back for Teel
We have too many infielders and outfielders as is
*claps olm on the back*
olm, listen to uncle dbh…Your guy is gone, bro. Let it go. We are not trading our starting catcher for the next decade for Briaser. And no, we can’t trade Casas or Houck for him either. We tried getting him back by offering John Henry, but they said no. Sorry.
Dbh… John Henry and Tom Warner?? Thank you for the tough love!!! I’ll have to root for Slaten ( baby Braiser) and Booser for now on… letting go is the toughest thing to moving on….
I get yq. I am still not over Fisk, and it has been almostv45 years lol
DBH – Yeah that was a brutal blunder. And he killed the Red Sox every time he faced them.
Didn’t they also mail Lynn’s contract late too, but yet somehow were able to trade him anyway? I can’t remember the details.
olm – As long as Yoshida is on the team, Turner wouldn’t be a good fit.
That ship sailed when they decided to make Yoshida a fulltime DH.
FPG.. absolutely.. and trying to move Yoshi would have to eat lots of cash.. question.. who would this right handed bat replace.. Hamilton/ Yoshi?? RR replaces WA.. thoughts??
olm – Westbrook, they need a decent RHB who can play infield. He’s not the answer.
The Bloom Vasquez trade was just ordinary. Vasquez can hit can’t field n doesn’t hit with enuff power to equalize his fielding. Abrue is a fair player n fielder nothing special, but any team could use him. I like Breslows selection of players so far, he’s not gonna be perfect, but dramatic improvement over his predecessor’s incompetence with the cast of characters he brought in in clouding hiving good money to an already injured Story. Big fudge, Robles, Diekmann the Walkman, and so many ins n outs can’t remember all the losers. Not to mention his horrific Mookie trade, n didn’t even get a hood pitcher back. I like Wong but he’s no Fisk behind the plate, not even close, although he’s a decent hitter, good guy love his attitude. Long gone is Cordero, Winnie still around, barely. Ok I shuddup now.
Sorry bout typos!
spit – There was nothing ordinary about that Vazquez trade, it was an absolute steal. Look at how badly he has performed since then, and how good Abreu has looked since then. Even without Valdez that trade was a steal.
Eovaldi for Giolito at the deadline. Who says no? How much salary would need to be picked up to get to yes?
Texas is going to be selling at the deadline. Eovaldi has 1 year left at $20m.
Giolito won’t be back until next season, but has 2 full years left at $19m and $14m. Sox need reinforcements this year, but don’t want to mortgage the farm.
I say if the Sox picked up the salary for both until Giolito is back on an active roster, Texas might bite. So Sox pay Eovaldi prorated $19m for this year, and $20m for next year. They pay Giolito this year, and maybe half of next year. Texas pays $9m plus $14m for a year and a half of Giolito, starting next summer.
Texas not selling. They’re on a win streak and the bats have decided to wake up. Only 6 games out and less in the Wild Card.
Texas would be flat out stupid to take Giolito. You can’t just benefit the Sox and not the other team
Eovaldi has not reached the 300 innings to trigger the 20 mils next year.
DBH – Exactly, that’s why he’s being referred to as a rental.
everybody involved should say no especially the red sox. The Sox need to find healthy reliable starters. Swapping one injured player for another injury prone player doesn’t make much sense.
Breslow’s comment about picking a lane is interesting because there is SO SO MUCH LUCK going on right now how can he guess which luck is going to run out. Which over performers are going to peter out and need to be replaced down the stretch?
Devers, O’Neill, Duran and Casas are legitimate hitters who won’t need replacing unless there are more injuries so if Boston won’t fix the defense at 3B then the four positions for hitters that are NOT needed are 3B, LF, CF and 1B.
The catchers second base and Abreu are by far the most likely to disappear after the all=star game based on their career numbers. Picking up a catcher makes no sense since Teel is just around the corner and Boston has lots of outfielders so that makes no sense either.
Yoshida sucks as a DH and they need a RH bat so that makes the most sense along with a 2B that can hit and field. That’s a pretty narrow offensive lane Breslow is looking for.
The pitching staff has the reliable Houck, Crawford and Pivetta. They have enough experience that they shouldn’t disappear after the all-star game. The bullpen has Hanley and Hendriks to close games and that’s better than most teams. So where is the Breslow pitching lane going?
Two starters would help but we’ve asked for 2 starters since last Sept so that probably won’t happen. Bello isn’t cutting it but he can be sent out there as the 5th starter and hope the offense can outscore the other team like against the OAK Athletics. So maybe ONE starter could improve things. It’s annoying when people talk about money for a starter because money shouldn’t enter the discussion with the enormous profits being made right now. Think about the fact that they wasted $300MM on Devers, $18MM a year on Yoshida, $23.3MM a year on Story, roughly $20mm a year on Giolito and $17MM so we can watch Sale pitch in the all-star game once again but for ATL!!. Money is NOT a consideration. All that matters is Breslow or his coaches have a connection with someone on another team who might be a little off and they think they can fix him and make him productive in the second half. Then money will be spent just like with O’Neill and Giolito..
This team hasn’t lost 3 series in a row so far. That’s absurd. The sound of the air going out of the tires for a long stretch is still ahead. Luck is luck but it doesn’t last forever. The team doesn’t have guys like Mookie, Bogey, JD and Sale anymore. They have unproven youth who are improving rapidly in some cases and are extremely hot without talent in many other cases. Is Breslow enough of a magician along with his pitching coaches and hitting coaches to keep the over performances going to October? Time will tell.
This is very much like 2021 except the great performances are coming from DD’s farm system guys not the 2018 WS Champs that carried them in 2021. It sure seems highly unlikely that a miracle will happen and nobody will fall off in the second half because that’s what it’s going to take for them to make the playoffs because the hard charging Astros and Rangers won’t stop charging as we go into August and September.
They should trade the organization for cash to someone that wants to win.
Trade O’Neal ASAP guy sucks
This is early 90’s Red Sox. This isn’t even Ralph Houk (R.I.P.) Red Sox.. This is the lane with the bumpers.
This comment section is HILARIOUS as always.
All the mooks who whined all offseason about how bad the Red Sox are gonna be are now here whining that Breslow better do the right thing around the trade deadline.
Entitled babies gonna entitled baby.
I keep hearing about all the infield prospects the Sox have, not to mention other prospects. Breslow should put on his big boy pants, give fans something to chat about and offer a package to get India from Cincinnati.
Valdez, Yorke, Grissom, Westbrook, etc…. how many 2nd basemen do we need? And why the heck “package” for league average hitter when we alraedy have a basket full of that?
I hardly consider Westbrook in any group. Grissom hasn’t shown squat and Valdez is a utilityman at best. India would be an upgrade over that group easily.
let – Agree with you on Westbrook and Grissom and Valdez, but don’t sleep on Yorke!
Both buying and selling doesn’t make any sense to me most of the time.
If you’re going to make a run at the playoffs, then you should fully commit to it as long as you don’t deplete your budget or farm system too much (unless your strategy actually is to go all in by selling the farm ahead of a rebuilding period).
The only reason a contending team should trade away Major League players with value is if they also get at least one MLB player in return who makes the team better overall.
If it isn’t your year and you start selling off at least the expiring contracts, don’t waste prospects also buying rentals while expecting some miracle run to the playoffs anyway. Buy only if you’re getting a controlled player who can be useful in future seasons.
Landrac – The buying and selling is nothing more than the late execution of his off season job. We have redundant talent that could provide value to other teams so it could bring some prospects.
We still have a couple of huge holes that need to be filled to set the future line-up and so doing it at the deadline makes perfect sense if the right 3B is available. I doubt fixing the elimination of Cora will happen at the deadline but one can hope!!
The players that need to depart are:
1 – Yoshida
2 – Jansen
3 – Martin
4 – O’Neill
5 – Story if possible but not likely
6 – Giolito – if possible but again not likely
Those six guys cost $91MM per year so roughly $30MM or so remaining in 2024 then the full $91MM will be available in 2024 to fill the 3B hole and add pitching.
If possible, it makes sense to find guys that can pitch and thrive using the Breslow way of pitching. Depth at pitching may be the second most critical change Boston needs right now. Devers to DH will always be the #1 need.
So lets buy and sell and position the team for the future.
TF – The good part about that list is three of them will definitely not return next season, Gio will be gone after 2025, and Story won’t hurt the team because he won’t be playing much the next few years.
Fever – Story will still hurt the team in $23.3MM ways. Giolito will be $20MM from a guy who has not done anything in 3 years. That hurts a total of $43.3MM different ways.
What’s that 15% of the payrolll? Costly mistakes.
TF – I don’t care about John Henry’s bank account! LOL!!
If Story never plays another game for the Sox because of injuries, then Rafaela/Mayer will have the position covered the next few years.
So Story won’t be hurting the team on the field, and he won’t even be hurting the team’s financials that much either (compared to if he was playing).
But yes, Story and Gio were HUGE costly mistakes …. all because the penny-pinching Red Sox thought they could save a few bucks when they signed them. How ironic is that? LOLOL!!!!
Buy low, sell low appears to be the Boston motto.
uvmfiji = So true with only a few exceeptions:
1 – Devers
2 – Giolito
3 – Story
4 – Yoshida
They were all buy HIGH and in Devers’ case it was buy Astronomically High!!! Especially for a one dimensional DH killing the team with errors at 3B.
So in closing… sometimes as a buyer you get Larry Andersen… and sometimes as a seller you get D Lowe and Tek… the only certainty is uncertainty…. I hope we have lime jello tonight.. ..damn jacket is so warm !!!!
Good Ole Cora was at again last night….. as soon as he sent out Bello for the 6th inning I knew it was a massive mistake….. 92 pitches, 11 K’s 3 stressful innings out of 5…. he already qualified for the W…. so why send him out for the 6th with a 9 run lead?
5 innings, 2 earned runs, 11 K’s looks so much better than 5 1/3 Innings 5 EARNED RUNS…. SMH
Way to effectively take a good positive outing, to not so much just because you want to get 6 inning out of him. Not the game to save your BP when you just had a night off and most of the BP had not pitched since Saturday.
It floors me how people believe he is a good Manager when it comes to handling the Pitching Staff and his terrible usage of the BP. One more baserunner and he would have had to bring in Kenley…. SMH
Cooper – Thanks for speaking up about how bad Cora is. I feel alone in my daily observations. Just think, had they fired Cora, kept Sale and brought in a manager as qualified as the pitching coaches and hitting coaches where would this team be today? They might have been ahead of NY and BAL. That’s how dramatic the impact of keeping Cora and giving away Sale has been on the fortunes of this team.
Great post!!
TF – As long as I’m here you’ll never be alone in your desire to remove Cora from the Red Sox manager’s chair!!!!
More and more analysts and media types are saying Cora will manage the Yankees next year …. I really hope it happens!!
Fever – HAHAHAHA….. from terrible to worse for the Yankees!! The projections flip flop if that happens and Stanton might be playing 3B!!!!! hahahaha
Scary thing is that he’s probably better than Devers!!!! hahaha