Red Sox need to counter Yankees before MLB trade deadline
After the New York Yankees swooped in to steal a few of their rumored trade targets, the Boston Red Sox need to counter with a move of their own.
The areas that the Boston Red Sox need to upgrade before the trade deadline are clear. They need to solidify the third base position, preferably with someone who can add some pop to the lineup. The bullpen could also use another reliever or two.
All of those concerns could have been addressed in an offer that the Chicago White Sox held out on a silver platter, only for the New York Yankees to sneak in and take it from them.
I never thought we’d live in a world where I would find myself disappointed that the Red Sox failed to acquire Todd Frazier, yet here we are. For all his flaws, the veteran third baseman is exactly what Boston needed. Frazier may not be able to hit a breaking ball, but he can smash a fastball a mile and would have instantly become the biggest power threat in the Red Sox lineup.
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Part of the appeal of Frazier is that he’ll be a free agent after this season, so he wouldn’t have been a long-term roadblock for top prospect Rafael Devers.
A trade for Frazier would not have cost a fortune or required a massive prospect haul. A difference-maker at a low cost is exactly what a Red Sox team being cautious of the luxury tax, with a farm system depleted by previous deals, should be looking for. There was a sale at Building 19 and Dave Dombrowski lingered in the aisle long enough for the Yankees to beat them to the checkout line.
What sealed the deal for New York was their willingness to expand the trade to include relievers David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle. Both strike-throwing arms would have been welcome additions to Boston’s bullpen, although their inclusion obviously raised the price. Chicago was never going to get much for Frazier alone. Rather than make a pure salary dump they wisely packaged him with coveted relievers to bring back a more appealing package.
For the Yankees, that meant surrendering one of their top prospects, Blake Rutherford, their first-round pick in the 2016 draft. The No. 30 prospect in baseball joins a now loaded White Sox farm system.
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The Red Sox balking at that price is forgivable, as it’s hard to image them parting with Jay Groome in exchange for a pair of middle relievers and a three month rental of Frazier. They would have preferred to target Frazier, perhaps with one of the two relievers, for a much lower cost. With Chicago willing to make both pitchers available to a team willing to take Frazier off their hands, the Yankees offer was always going to trump what the Red Sox were comfortable with.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the Red Sox never showed serious interest in Frazier, contradicting earlier reports that they were closing in on a deal. If Boston’s rumored interest was a smokescreen to drive up the price for their division rival, it worked.
Even if Boston’s pursuit of Frazier was overblown, the fact remains that they have holes left to fill while their biggest competitor in the AL East has improved. There are a number of third baseman who the Red Sox are rumored to have an eye on and bullpen arms can always be found as the trade deadline approaches.
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The Yankees have fired the first shot, now it’s Boston’s turn to counter. With New York and Tampa Bay both sitting a mere two games back in the loss column, the Red Sox can’t afford to stand pat. Time for Dealin’ Dave to get to work.