WEST SACRAMENTO – There is one series left for the rolling Red Sox before Monday’s Trade Deadline, and it should be a doozy: Three games at Dodger Stadium, starting Friday night.
While the players on the current roster – who are 20-3 since July 5 – will try to keep it going, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will be doing everything he can to bolster the current group while hunkering down with his staff in Boston.
WHERE WILL ADDED BATS BEST FIT?
The Red Sox have been depleted by injuries in the middle infield, particularly at shortstop, where Trevor Story, Marcelo Mayer and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are all on the injured list at the same time with still no projected return for any of the trio.
Andruw Monasterio has done a nice job at the plate as the primary shortstop over the last couple of weeks, but he made three errors in the just-completed four-game series against the Athletics. The right-handed hitter is ideally a utility player.
Zach Neto (Angels) and Otto Lopez (Marlins) are some of the most intriguing shortstops that have been linked to the Red Sox. The Sox have a top shortstop prospect in Franklin Arias (Boston No. 1, MLB No. 7) they could offer to a rebuilding club in exchange for an established player at the key spot in the infield.
While Connor Wong and Carlos Narváez are both considered solid defenders, catcher is another spot Boston has lagged at in terms of production.
The Marlins could also offer a solution here in Liam Hicks, who has rotated between catcher (31 starts), first base (19 starts) and DH (37 starts) this season. One intriguing possibility would be the Sox making a package deal for Lopez and Hicks. Ryan Jeffers (Twins) would also be a good option behind the plate, but Minnesota (three games back in the AL Central and one back in WIld Card standings) might not be willing to part with him, despite his expiring contract.
The Sox have shown the ability for late-game magic in recent weeks, but it’s no secret they need more impact hitters. Heading into the weekend, only the Brewers (98 home runs) have gone deep fewer times than Boston (104).
Pitching has been the clear strength of the Red Sox this season, as their 3.54 ERA (third best in the Majors) demonstrates.
But you can never have enough arms, particularly when your front office is led by Breslow, who has greatly improved the team’s pitching department in his three years on the job. And keep in mind the Sox just parted with a solid pitcher in Early. And if ace Garrett Crochet (shoulder inflammation) returns, it won’t be until very late in the season.
Could Breslow swing big for someone like Tarik Skubal or Hunter Greene? At the very least, he’s likely to add a depth option to a rotation that has Brayan Bello but not much else internally if one of the team’s current five starters suffers an injury.
HOW DOES ROMAN ANTHONY IMPACT THINGS?
There is one production source that could come without having to make a trade. Roman Anthony, who broke out for the Red Sox in his rookie season last year and in the World Baseball Classic back in March, hasn’t played since suffering a partial tear of a tendon connected between his wrist and his right ring finger on May 4.
There was progress on the Anthony front this week, as the left-handed hitter was able to resume swinging the bat for the first time in two months. At this point, Anthony is doing tee work and light soft toss, taking roughly 30 cuts a day in Fort Myers, Fla. But Breslow cautioned against putting too much on the possible return of Anthony.
“We have to make all of those decisions independent of each other just to make sure we’re not relying on something that we’re not certain about,” said Breslow in a Thursday radio interview with WEEI, the team’s flagship station.
With the Red Sox putting a lot of wind in their sails by their recent play, the team could have its most active July trade season in years.
