The Boston Red Sox could have done way more at the trade deadline to support a playoff run.
The Boston Red Sox shocked the baseball world when they traded All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants on Father’s Day.
They also shocked the baseball world when the team caught fire after the Devers trade.
Boston has been one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball since then and now sit just four games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the American League East.
The Red Sox are just a half-game back from the New York Yankees for the top AL Wild Card spot.
It seemed like the Red Sox would be aggressive buyers at the trade deadline, especially after getting rid of Devers’ contract.
While they did make some moves, they weren’t anything special on the surface. ESPN’s David Schoenfield named Boston as one of the trade deadline losers.
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“The Red Sox added pitchers Dustin May and Steven Matz. Meh. May had a 4.85 ERA while starting for the Dodgers. Matz had a 3.44 ERA pitching in relief for the St. Louis Cardinals,” wrote Schoenfield. “Both have some utility -- May gives them a rotation option, and Matz has been a multi-inning reliever -- but don't really alter Boston's playoff odds, especially factoring in the moves the Yankees and Blue Jays made, or even the Tampa Bay Rays adding a couple of higher-impact pitchers in Adrian Houser and Griffin Jax.
“The Red Sox could have traded for a first baseman or gotten creative and dealt from their logjam of outfielders. It's understandable they didn't want to do that now, given they've gone 17-7 in July. Why mess with that momentum? Still, a better starting pitcher than May or an impact reliever would have helped.”
These guys may pay dividends for Boston down the stretch, but it’s hard to imagine they couldn’t have done better.
Teams were greedy with their quality pitchers, which makes sense, but Boston is a team like the Chicago Cubs with lots of talent that could have gotten deals done.
The Red Sox will try to stay hot and healthy as they fight for a playoff spot.
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