The Red Sox continue to disappoint in 2020
We’re over a week into the 2020 season and the Red Sox are sitting in the basement of the AL East with a paltry 3-7 record. To put that into perspective there are only three teams in the entire league that are worse than Boston. The Royals are 3-8, the Pirates are 2-8, and the Phillies are 1-3, granted Philly has had numerous games postponed thanks to COVID.
The moral of the story here is that the 2020 Boston Red Sox are not a good team. So what should Ron Roenicke, CBO Chaim Bloom and the rest of the front office and ownership group do? That’s the million-dollar question and something that the team needs to address and figure out soon as the season is slipping away with each night.
The obvious answer is that they can keep tinkering with the lineup and rotating in players from the player pool to see if anyone can offer a boost to morale. Things could get so out of hand that Bloom goes to the prospect list and starts getting some of his top young talent playing time in the bigs, that’s my favorite choice. Finally, they could start selling the farm and pack it up until 2021, this one feels increasingly likely.
With the shortened season the trade deadline is just a month into the year as it’s set to come and go on August 31st. Anyone that’s traded during this funk campaign is essentially a rental unless the package is good enough to warrant a return of players with years of control.
This could be the year where we see teams in the hunt go shopping for the pieces they need to win from the teams that are well out of the postseason hunt. The Red Sox have plenty of those guys, and with that 3-7 record, I’m sure Chaim’s phone will be ringing soon. Boston’s list of players heading for free agency is pretty damn long, and if the season is lost, we could see a fire sale in order to get some return on players heading for the market.
Red Sox CBO Chaim Bloom should open trade talks
Boston’s soon to be free-agent list includes names like Brandon Workman, Jackie Bradley Jr., Kevin Pillar, Martin Perez, Mitch Moreland, and technically J.D. Martinez. I had to include J.D. on the list as we all know he has the opt-out ability after this season and very well could walk if things continue to be awful in Boston. There’s still plenty of time for some of those players to receive extensions before the winter comes but it’ll come down to what Chaim has planned going forward.
Dave Dombrowski decimated the farm system during his time as President of Baseball Ops, as he’s known to do, and Bloom was brought in to rebuild it while working with a tight budget. He very well may see an opportunity to get some value in return for players that may be leaving when the season ends. I don’t always agree with the get something now instead of nothing later plan of attack, but it kind of fits pretty well here.
Some of those names may not fetch much on the market, especially as rentals, but if it means getting something in return that could benefit the Red Sox going forward, it could be worth it. The only one on that list I can see Bloom and Boston extending new deals to are Pillar and Workman. I hope something can be done to keep J.D. at Fenway for the foreseeable future but with the Universal DH likely becoming extended beyond 2020, that’ll need to be one hell of a contract.
If the Sox can’t make a push this week and they continue to pile on losses, then this season will be lost and it’ll be time to go shopping. Whereas Boston is usually a buyer on the market, this time around they’ll be the one setting up shop and slashing prices for their players. Hell, JBJ even jokes about how many times the Red Sox have tried to trade him, welp, this may be the time.
I’m not going to try and BS you and be overly optimistic about this season, there’s been zero evidence that we should be, I think it’s time to sell. Let’s see if we can get some prospects, even lower level, in return for these guys that will likely be heading out this winter anyway. If the season is totally in the garbage then I honestly wouldn’t even flinch at trading some big-name guys., just not Xander Bogaerts or Rafael Devers, protect them at all costs.
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But considering neither Andrew Benintendi nor Michael Chavis is doing anything of real worth as of yet, they probably shouldn’t feel safe. With Bobby Dalbec hot on the heels of a Major League promotion, he could be the heir apparent to Moreland, leaving Chavis in the cold. I’d hate to see either of them go but as many have said, Chaim’s the new guy in the organization and doesn’t have any long-lasting relationships with this squad, nobody is safe.
To me, this is the year to hit the reset button, and Boston has pretty much already done that with the trades of Mookie Betts and David Price. And as long as we make it to the trade deadline, the CBT will reset and the Red Sox can get back to spending for 2021. Will they? Probably not with Chaim in charge, but the option will be there. With his reputation for building strong farm systems under tight fiscal restrictions, this could be in his wheelhouse.
I know many of you will hate this idea and I’m ready for that backlash, but it’s the future we may be looking at. If the Red Sox had gotten off to a hot start then this wouldn’t even be a topic that I’d entertain, but with each loss, it feels like we’re on the precipice of a rebuild. I wouldn’t be surprised to see news start flowing in closer to August 31st that Bloom is wheeling and dealing players throughout the league. There are many I’d hate to see leave Fenway Park, but the sad reality is that this is still a business, and will always be treated as such.