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.
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.