The Boston Red Sox need some help at the trade deadline

The Red Sox need to be buyers to get some help by the trade deadline

The Boston Red Sox are currently only sitting two games out of a playoff spot and can easily make that climb back into the postseason. While sitting in this position, they need to fill some major holes that are very obvious and are a black eye to the team.

There are three major holes that need to be fixed for this Red Sox team. Their biggest need that has to be addressed is at first base. The other two holes that need to be addressed are the pitching staff and getting another outfielder.

We have seen what happens when you put an infielder in Christian Arroyo out in right field and it is not pretty. Rob Refsnyder has made a nice impact since being called up but he should not be out there every day in right. Kike Hernandez was doing a rehab stint but recently got shut down.

Jackie Bradley Jr can smack the ball around when the Red Sox are home, but his bat disappears when on the road and Franchy Cordero is currently trying to play first base. The Red Sox are in desperate need to address this problem and add an outfielder. A true outfielder.

My dream trade would be for the Red Sox to bring Benny back to Boston since he is smashing the ball and playing brilliantly in the outfield. My realistic target would be for the Red Sox to add Max Kepler from the Twins. Kepler is an upgrade defensively in right field.

His bat has never hit near .300, he will be no Kyle Schwarber, but he makes solid contact and can drive the ball when needed. Who knows, maybe this change for Kepler is something that he needs in order to take his talent and ability to the next level.

Having Verdugo, Kike, JBJ, and Kepler going forward for the rest of the season gives me way more confidence in this team and the outfield than having Arroyo, Refsnyder or Cordero on there or even on the team.

The Red Sox need some pitching help

The Red Sox pitching staff got some great news recently with the returns of Nathan Eovaldi, Garrett Whitlock, and Chris Sale. Sale returned and looked really good for his first time pitching this year. Eovaldi looked good in his first start back and it was a welcome sight to see Whitlock back in the bullpen mowing guys down.

And then crap literally hit the fan. In Sale’s second start of the season, he gets a liner right back to the mound that bounces off his hand and broke his pinky. Just like that the Red Sox lost what they had just got back. It is a big loss, but it was not like we had him all season long and took this big loss.

The Red Sox have run their fair share of rookies through the rotation and each one of them has had their own struggles. The Red Sox need to go get at least one guy added to their rotation that has experience starting in the Major Leagues.

The most obvious target is actually a familiar face to the Boston baseball. Oakland A’s pitcher Frankie Montas should be the number one pitching target for the Red Sox. He was originally with the Red Sox in the early parts of his career but ended up being a piece of the trade that brought Jake Peavy to Boston in 2013.

Montas is on a team that is nowhere near contending but he would definitely be a helping hand for a team trying to make a playoff push. I know right now there is some injury concern, but that is why the Red Sox should strike now when his value is a bit low. Montas would be able to come in and help pick up the slack while Wacha, Sale, and Paxton recover from their injuries.

Boston also needs some help in the bullpen. I wrote an article a few weeks ago on five arms that could help the Red Sox bullpen. I still stand by those five guys.

If I had to pick one, it would be AJ Puk added into the Montas trade. He will help this Red Sox bullpen and help the A’s continue being one of the biggest embarrassments in baseball. Plus maybe this allows the Red Sox to dump Jake Diekman and Ryan Braiser.

Josh Bell is the belle of the ball for Red Sox first base targets

Boston has been everything but spectacular at first base. They started the season off with Travis Shaw and Bobby Dalbec as the two-man show at first. Shaw never recorded a hit and got DFA’d. Dalbec has had a couple of bright spots this year, but those bright spots are drowned out but all of his bad moments.

Cordero got called up from Worcester and showed some promise at first. He was seeing the ball well at the plate and was playing well enough defensively to earn the starting job. Recently things have very much changed for Cordero. In his last 7 games, he is 1-20 with 17 strikeouts.

At that rate, I would rather see pitchers hit instead of him. The Red Sox are desperate at first base. They absolutely need to upgrade. Going forward you can not keep having Cordero and Dalbec as your first baseman.

Boston needs to make a move for a first baseman. They could call up Triston Casas, but I do not think that will be enough for Boston. They could go to Colorado and trade for CJ Cron but that just does not get me excited. The trade that gets me excited is for Nationals’ first baseman Josh Bell.

Bell upgrades the Red Sox defense, he upgrades the Red Sox offense, and he upgrades the Red Sox all around. A duo of Bell/Casas gives the Red Sox the upgrades they need and allows Boston to move on from Dalbec.

The Red Sox are two games out from the playoffs with just under half the season left. That is a molehill, not a mountain. The Red Sox have two young core pieces that they need to show they are willing to build around and support. Bloom needs to show this team that he wants to win championships and not trade away two more guys that are some of the best at their position.