When should the Red Sox make a move?
With two weeks left before the MLB trade deadline, the Sox are in a position to buy and improve the roster
The MLB trade deadline is just two weeks away. It doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but in reality two weeks could be a lifetime for a team that is deciding whether or not to buy or sell. For the Red Sox, they have 10 games to go before August 1st and currently sit two games back of the loss column, trailing the Houston Astros for the last wild card spot.
The Red Sox have one more game against Oakland, then come home to play the New York Mets, before playing two straight playoff contenders on the road against the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants. Their last game before the deadline is the first of three in Seattle against the Mariners.
Assistant general manager Eddie Romero spoke to Jen McCaffery of The Athletic last Saturday. He commented on regarding how this team plays in the final two weeks and how it effects trade deadline approach. “It'll determine where we’re going. We have very little margin for error.” This sounds like a front office that has not bought in on the recent success quite yet.
This front office won’t declare themselves buyers or sellers until they have to. They want to see how the final 10 games play out and if the Red Sox slip and fall back they will be selling.
Logically this makes sense, as a reminder of last nights shutout loss. Despite playing their best baseball right now there is still holes on this team that show up. However, the level of activity around the league will ultimately determine the timeline of the trade season.
Rumors are already flying around about different targets each playoff contender is interested in and might go after. The silence on the Red Sox is another sign of them waiting around for other teams to determine the market. Since Bloom is not an aggressive and risky front office leader, he won’t just go out and make the first move.
Once that first big trade from another team gets agreed upon whether it is a day from now or two weeks that is when the Red Sox must decide their direction. That will start the clock on trades and the Red Sox have to have conviction on being a buyer or a seller.
This front office can’t just wait to see what their exact position on deadline day. If the Red Sox are buyers, which they should be as of today, they will have to survey the market and go after their targets before someone else scoops them up. Otherwise, the Red Sox will be behind every other contender picking up whatever is left, much like they were when they had to settle for Corey Kluber in free agency.
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