With the All-Star break in the rearview mirror, the Boston Red Sox must now turn their attention to the trade deadline where they have some tough decisions to make. They are five games above .500 and just two games back in the wild card race, but they are also nine games back in the division and the other teams in the wild card race in the AL are likely to remain aggressive.
The best guess here is that the Red Sox will be doing a mix of buying and selling at the deadline. The Red Sox are in pretty desperate need of some pitching, but they are also one of the few teams that have some outfield depth to deal from at the deadline.
That lack of depth in the trade market at outfield actually has Boston in a pretty sweet position. It isn't hyperbole to say that while they won't be players in the busiest part of the trade market (pitching), the Red Sox may have the most important player at the trade deadline in Adam Duvall.
Here's why Adam Duvall is the most important at the trade deadline
Most teams, including most contenders, are going to be looking for pitching. That is a given. However, there are also a lot of pitchers (both starters and relievers) that are going to be available. The position player side of the market is much shallower especially when it comes to impact players and that makes Adam Duvall uniquely positioned as a guy that will be in high demand.
Lets take a look at why Adam Duvall may be the most important player at the trade deadline not just to the Red Sox, but to the market as a whole.