The Boston Red Sox front office has been intentionally vague about the club's trade deadline plans. But just hours before the Sox reached a season-best 11 games above .500 to go into the All-Star break on a high note, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow may have provided the news fans have been hoping for.
The CBO appeared on the NESN broadcast of Boston's July 14 game with the Kansas City Royals, the team his squad was battling for the third American League wild card spot. The Sox took two of three games from the Royals in commanding fashion and knocked out two of its best pitchers, Seth Lugo and Brady Singer, early in their starts. Their play must've inspired the front office.
". . . I think this team has put themselves in a position where we have to take them seriously, right?" Breslow said. "The job that they had to do is to win as many games as possible and they’re doing that. They’ll continue to do that — it’s my hope, it’s my expectation. We need to be thinking about opportunities for us to improve the club.”
Breslow's comments lead fans and reporters to believe the Red Sox will take a buyer mindset into the final weeks before the trade deadline. He's right — the players deserve it.
Craig Breslow hints that the Red Sox might plan to add before the trade deadline
Breslow on NESN: "We need to be thinking about opportunities for us to improve the club."
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) July 14, 2024
The Red Sox have the best record in MLB since May 18 and Alex Cora has been vocal about wanting the front office to be aggressive at the deadline. Boston hasn't been more than five games over .500 at the All-Star break since 2021, and that team made it two games from the World Series.
Rafael Devers is posting the best season of his career, the Red Sox's rookies are thriving and Jarren Duran, Tanner Houck and Connor Wong are having breakout seasons. Boston is getting the most out of its players and they've played gritty, athletic, modern baseball against talented teams. Breslow seems to understand it's the front office's time to go for it.
The Sox' CBO has shared his plans to add a starting pitcher and righty bat before the deadline. They could be all Boston needs to make a serious postseason run when many fans and experts least expected it. And the impact trade deadline approach could be what keeps Cora in Boston for the next few seasons to come.
It seems Breslow will make the right call to add before the trade deadline. Now it's time to wait and see what ownership will allow him to do.