Making the case for the Red Sox to be buyers at the trade deadline

A surprising first half has given Red Sox nation hope

Photo Credit: shopiebee

Coming into this season, there was not a lot of optimism surrounding the Boston Red Sox. This was mainly due to losing top players in free agency and signing some question marks.

At the Red Sox Winter Weekend this past year, the Red Sox faithful made it clear how they felt about the current team, constantly booing Chaim Bloom and ownership to the point it was difficult for them to get a word out.

The current roster mixed with having to play in a loaded AL East, a year after the Red Sox were completely owned by this division, (26-50 divisional record) which seemed to get better in the offseason, did not give Red Sox nation a lot to look forward to in the 2023 campaign.

But, sitting here on June 21st, the Red Sox are currently 39-35 and boast a six game-winning streak. Yes, the Red Sox are still in last in the Al East, but they only sit a 0.5 game back of the Blue Jays for fourth in the division and 1.5 games back of the Angels for the last wild card spot.

I’m not sitting here saying the Red Sox need to purge the farm and go all in to try and win the World Series, but minor-mid level moves to try and improve this team should definitely be the game plan at the current moment.

Now, getting into the reasons for this:

1: The bullpen has just about been as good as advertised, with a 3.84 ERA. This comes with 2022 stud reliever John Schreiber missing a significant portion of the season. The biggest contributors have been Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin, who may be representing Boston at this years All Star Game.

2: The offense is coming around. One of the biggest offseason question marks was the signing of Masataka Yoshida from Japan. Well, he is currently batting .308 with eight home runs and 39 RBIS, while also being the leading candidate for AL Rookie of the Year. He is also in contention to have more walks than strikeouts this season. Justin Turner has been a pleasant surprise, while Verdugo has been solid all season. Tristan Casa and Connor Wong emerging, and Adam Duvall returning has been a big reason for the recent success. The Sox are a Rafael Devers hot stretch away from being a real problem.

3: Players will be coming back. We have already seen Adam Duvall return after missing two months. Yu Chang, John Schreiber, Wyatt Mills, Zack Kelly, Joely Rodriguez, and Trevor Story should all be back by August or earlier, giving more depth and talent to the squad. the recent Tanner Houck injury certainly stings as he has been pitching well and will undergo surgery for his face. The recent emergence of young pitchers however will try to carry the fort while he is out.

4: Going off of that, so many young guys have been stepping up and playing well, it could only hurt their development and confidence if you show them that you are not committed and proceed to sell valuable pieces. Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock, Connor Wong, Jarren Duran, and Tristan Casas have begun to emerge as a young and fun core that the Sox need to invest in.

5: Although the schedule is not a cake walk for the next few months, there certainly winnable games and series (two more games with Twins, three with White Sox, and six with Athletics) with more on top of those that if the team plays the way they currently are, they could surge up the standings and into a playoff spot come the end of July.

Once again, I cannot say this team will win a world series come October or even if this hot stretch is more than a mere fluke. But, as things currently stand, it would be an absolute mistake to be sellers when the August 1st trade deadline comes around.

Follow Brandon on twitter: Brandonmurdoc11

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