Red Sox 2018 trade deadline recap: Contenders made moves to improve
Assessing the moves the Boston Red Sox made prior to the 2018 MLB deadline compared to the other American League contenders.
The MLB trade deadline ended up being anticlimactic for the Boston Red Sox. Other contenders stocked up for the stretch run with a flurry of last-minute moves yet the team with the best record in the majors remained quiet.
Despite being linked to virtually every relief pitcher on the market, Tuesday’s 4:00 p.m. deadline passed without a deal to upgrade the bullpen.
That doesn’t mean the Red Sox haven’t improved. Deadline Day was uneventful in part because Dave Dombrowski got his work done early. He may not have landed the lockdown reliever many of us pegged as the team’s greatest priority but Dombrowski did add a couple of infielders plus a starting pitcher over the last few weeks.
We can’t rule out the possibility of an August waiver deal. A minor league prospect would force their way to the big leagues with a strong finish. However, I wouldn’t expect a significant addition from either source. For the most part, what we see on this Red Sox roster now is what they’ll have as they prepare for a postseason run.
The best team in baseball got better before the deadline. So did the other American League teams they are contending with. Who went where and why does it help those teams? That’s what we’re here to recap.
Who we got
The Red Sox started their shopping early, picking up Steve Pearce from the Toronto Blue Jays at the end of June. Boston was near the bottom of the league in batting average and OPS against left-handed pitching at the time, making a right-handed bat a priority. They have since climbed to the middle of the pack against lefties.
We can’t give all the credit to Pearce for that improvement but he deserves his fair share. Pearce is hitting .333 with a .921 OPS, five doubles, and a home run in 17 games with the Red Sox. He hasn’t been utilized exclusively against lefties but he’s been everything the team could have hoped for as a lefty masher, slashing .500/.579/.875 over 16 at-bats.
All eyes were on the trade market for a reliever, yet in a surprise move, the Red Sox acquired a starting pitcher in Nathan Eovaldi. The hard-throwing right-hander is third in the majors with an average fastball velocity of 97.2 mph (minimum 60 innings).
Steven Wright and Eduardo Rodriguez remain sidelined by injuries. Now Chris Sale has joined them on the disabled list. Drew Pomeranz is still trying to find himself on the mound following his latest return from a DL stint. Rotation depth was a greater priority than we initially realized.
Eovaldi impressed in his Red Sox debut, tossing seven scoreless innings in a win over the Minnesota Twins. He picked up five strikeouts and didn’t walk a batter, which is fairly typical for Eovaldi. He pounds the strike zone and rarely allows himself to get beat by free passes.
Boston didn’t make any last-minute deadline deals on Tuesday but they did swing a trade the previous night. The Red Sox acquired second baseman Ian Kinsler from the Los Angeles Angels to shore up their infield defense.
Kinsler’s arrival signals that the Red Sox have little confidence that Dustin Pedroia can return this season. Eduardo Nunez has been the primary replacement at second base but his defense has been atrocious. Brock Holt has also filled in at the position but he’s better off staying flexible in a role where he can be utilized all over the field.
Trading for Kinsler solves those problems. The former Gold Glove winner is second among major league second basemen with 10 defensive runs saved. Infield defense has been an issue for the Red Sox all season but adding Kinsler up the middle will make a significant difference.
A slow start marred by injury has dragged down Kinsler’s numbers at the plate but he was starting to heat up as the deadline approached. Kinsler blasted eight home runs in the month of June and he’s hitting .316 with a .842 OPS in July.
A Red Sox team with the best record in the majors didn’t have many holes to patch up yet they added three players who can make a difference down the stretch.
Who we didn’t get
The one area we all expected the Red Sox to address at the trade deadline is one they ignored. Despite the inconsistencies of the setup options bridging the gap to Craig Kimbrel, Boston failed to acquire a reliever before the deadline.
We heard rumors that the Red Sox were aiming high in their pursuit of a top-notch reliever. A closer who could pair with Kimbrel to form two-headed monster at the back of the bullpen. Ideally, one they could control beyond this season to provide insurance if Kimbrel bolts in free agency.
Boston inquired about a pair of lefties from the San Francisco Giants but Tony Watson and Will Smith ended up staying put. Ditto for St. Louis Cardinals closer Bud Norris and a trio of Cincinnati Reds relievers.
The Red Sox reportedly talked to the Nationals about Kelvin Herrera until Washington pivoted the night before the deadline by deciding not to sell.
Source: The Red Sox had been pursuing a Kelvin Herrera deal with the Nationals last night.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) July 31, 2018
Virtually every potentially available reliever was linked to the Red Sox at some point. Several of those options ended up being traded to another contender. They even toyed with the idea of bringing back Brad Ziegler, although assuming he’d replicate his 2016 success in Boston would have been a mistake.
Dave Dombrowski downplayed the need for a reliever in his post-deadline press conference televised on NESN. The president of baseball operations claimed he likes his bullpen and didn’t see a reliever as a dire need. Which goes against everything we’ve been hearing for the last several weeks and is contradicted by the report of chasing Herrera the night before the deadline.
The Red Sox wanted another reliever and came up short. That’s a failure on Dombrowski’s part but not a devastating one. There are reasons to believe their bullpen will improve.
Tyler Thornburg has been great in his last few outings since tweaking his mechanics. Ryan Brasier has been a revelation in his brief time on the roster. Joe Kelly has been a mess lately but if he turns back into the pitcher he was in the first half then he’s a legitimate setup option. Their surplus starting pitching depth, when everyone’s healthy, will allow them to shift a starter or two into the bullpen in the postseason.
We would have preferred a more reliable setup man to handle the eighth inning but there are enough quality arms on this staff to patch together an acceptable bullpen.
Who other contenders got
The Red Sox improved their team before the trade deadline. Unfortunately, so did their competition.
The New York Yankees stole a primary target from the Red Sox, acquiring Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton. They paid a steeper price than Boston would have been comfortable with but it may pay off for the Yankees if Britton returns to his pre-injury form. His control has been shaky following a long layoff recovering from an Achilles injury but it wasn’t long ago that Britton was one of the game’s elite closers.
The Yankees needed starting pitching depth and they found a solid option in J.A. Happ. While his All-Star selection this year overstates Happ’s production, he’s been an above average starter the last few years. Happ also has a great track record against the Red Sox, which should concern their rivals with three regular-season series and a potential postseason matchup on the road ahead.
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The trade for Lance Lynn was a bit surprising given his struggles this season. He’s a veteran who gives the Yankees depth and could potentially help in a bullpen role in the playoffs. Relying on him could also blow up in their faces as spectacularly as last year’s trade for Sonny Gray did.
The Cleveland Indians addressed their biggest weakness by trading for San Diego Padres relievers Brad Hand and Adam Cimber. The Indians have one of the worst bullpens in the league, ranking 14th in the AL with a collective 5.00 ERA. Now they have added two trustworthy relievers who will help shorten games for one of the best starting rotations in the majors.
Cleveland still has holes they failed to address. Is Leonys Martin the answer for their outfield? They certainly aimed higher but he’s the best they could get. Several second base options were moved at the deadline yet the Indians couldn’t find one to upgrade on the struggling Jason Kipnis.
The Indians will cruise to a division title but we have to wonder if they upgraded enough to hang with the top trio in the AL.
A stacked Houston Astros bullpen got deeper when they acquired Ryan Pressly from the Twins, a reliever once linked to Boston. Houston also made a risky move by trading for former Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna, whose pending domestic violence case threatens to be a distraction and potentially could prevent him from pitching again this season if he’s convicted.
The Astros could have used an upgrade in left field, as their current options have combined to hit .239 with a .688 OPS. Bench depth would have been ideal for a team currently dealing with injuries to Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and George Springer.
Assuming they don’t catch the reeling Astros, the Seattle Mariners remain in the driver’s seat for the second Wild Card spot. They didn’t make any flashy moves at the deadline but the Mariners did add a couple of bullpen arms in Adam Warren and Zach Duke. While Cameron Maybin is well past his prime, he’s still an upgrade over Guillermo Heredia in the outfield. Seattle will also get Robinson Cano back from his suspension soon.
Trade Deadline shakes up farm system. dark. Next
All the AL contenders did something prior to the trade deadline. Cleveland, Houston, and Seattle addressed some of their weaknesses but may not have done enough to catch the Red Sox. The Yankees arguably had the best deadline among these contenders, yet Boston wasn’t far behind with their own upgrades. As long as the decision to not upgrade their bullpen doesn’t come back to haunt them, the Red Sox remain the top team in the league in the wake of the trade deadline.