Red Sox president Sam Kennedy trolls Yankees over trade deadline moves
The Red Sox president responds to the Yankees trade deadline moves
Boston Red Sox president Sam Kennedy has thrown fuel on the fire of baseball’s greatest rivalry only this time, the shots were fired off the field.
The New York Yankees were among the most active teams at the MLB trade deadline, acquiring middle-of-the-order bats Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo. The Bronx Bombers added plenty of thump to their lineup, signaling they are going all in on their pursuit of a Wild Card spot.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox have been harshly criticized for the perception that they didn’t do enough to upgrade at the deadline despite a realistic chance of winning the division.
Appearing on WEEI’s the Greg Hill Show on Thursday, Kennedy defended his club’s approach while taking a shot at the Yankees by explaining why they made more trades.
“They had to be active because I think they are 3-10 against us, Greg,” Kennedy said.
The Red Sox president has a point. Boston took 10 of the first 13 games against the Yankees this season and entered the deadline leading the AL East. A season-high four-game losing streak has since dropped the Red Sox a game behind the Tampa Bay Rays but they are still firmly in the mix for a division title and five games ahead of the Yankees.
The Red Sox made their own deadline deals
Kennedy also adamantly disagreed with the perception that the Red Sox stood pat at the deadline. Boston added a big bat of their own in Kyle Schwarber, who made his first All-Star appearance this season by hitting .253/.340/.570 with 25 home runs for the Washington Nationals.
Only in Boston can fans be this furious that their team only traded for one All-Star.
In fairness, the backlash against the team’s strategy is focused primarily on the Red Sox failing to address their biggest concern at first base. They intend to give Schwarber a shot at fielding the position despite that he has only one appearance at first base in his career. Schwarber is currently sidelined by a hamstring injury and while he’s expected to return soon, his delayed addition to the lineup allows concerns about his ability to handle first base to linger. Meanwhile, the Yankees have added players who are paying immediate dividends.
While Schwarber might prove to be a questionable fit defensively, there’s no doubt that he can contribute in other ways and Kennedy wasn’t shy about expressing his excitement about what he brings to this team.
“He’s a guy who has been in the postseason, who has actually come back from injury. Everybody knows what he did in 2016,” Kennedy said, referencing Schwarber’s return from a significant knee injury with the Cubs. “So beyond that, we needed to add some left-handed bat to the lineup. From all of our work, intel, and research, he is an incredible force in that clubhouse. The positivity. Leadership. Setting the right example. We’re really excited to add the caliber of person, someone who had that positivity and is a World Series champion to this club.”
The Red Sox also traded for Hansel Robles and Austin Davis to bolster the bullpen, although a pair of relievers with ERA’s hovering near 5.00 isn’t going to get the fan base fired up. They weren’t flashy moves but these arms can be useful.
Robles has spent time with three different teams, each of which thought highly enough of him to give him save opportunities. He converted 10 of 12 save chances for the Minnesota Twins this season. Boston obviously won’t use him in that capacity but he’s battle tested in high-leverage situations.
Davis provides the bullpen with another lefty that they desperately needed with Darwinzon Hernandez sidelined by an oblique injury. Ignore the bloated ERA from Davis. He’s holding left-handed hitters to a .095 batting average and .534 OPS this season. He’ll serve a purpose for this bullpen.
Why the Red Sox didn’t do more at the trade deadline
There were rumblings that the Red Sox were interested in making a splash for a big-name starter but after seeing the package the Dodgers gave up for Max Scherzer and the price the Blue Jays paid for Jose Berrios, it’s easy to see why Boston couldn’t compete with those offers. They obviously aren’t giving away Triston Casas or Jeter Downs for a rental or even a short-term upgrade. It turns out, the Red Sox farm system doesn’t have enough assets to pull off a blockbuster deal if they aren’t willing to surrender their best chips.
The Red Sox will get Chris Sale back soon. Tanner Houck can replace a struggling starter down the stretch and Connor Seabold provides depth while dominating down in Triple-A. You can never have too much pitching but the Red Sox have enough depth that they didn’t need to sell the farm to find upgrades.
Boston acquired Schwarber for Aldo Ramirez, an appealing pitching prospect but was ranked outside the top-10 in the Red Sox system by most outlets and had a long way to go before he would be major league ready. Boston will face a roster crunch in the near future with prospects they will need to add to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft or give them an opportunity to help the major league club. Dealing Ramirez helped alleviate that log jam.
Boston tried to use more of their surplus in deals but other teams weren’t interested. This was evident by the Red Sox designating Marcus Wilson for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Wilson was a borderline top-15 prospect in the Red Sox system. If they weren’t able to obtain anything of value for him at the deadline, it’s no wonder they couldn’t do more.
The Yankees clearly did more to upgrade at the deadline. They also had a deeper farm system to work with and paid a hefty price for their short-term fixes. Chaim Bloom has focused on restocking the farm system with the type of depth they need to pull off these type of deadline deals without sacrificing future building blocks but the project remains a work in progress.
As Kennedy pointed out, the Yankees needed to do more in order to stay alive in the playoff hunt. The race for the division title will be tight with the Rays but Boston has a solid chance of securing a playoff spot, barring an epic collapse.
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The notion that the Red Sox did nothing at the deadline is wildly inaccurate. Will their moves be enough? That remains to be seen but they addressed several concerns with moves both internally and externally. Boston is one of the elite teams in the American League and they didn’t need to mortgage their future to retain that status.