Now that a string of 10 wins in 12 games has been followed up by five straight losses, the Red Sox are looking at a grim reality. The putrid defense that has weighed down the team in recent years has not gone anywhere, even without Rafael Devers on the field, and the boneheaded base-running, too, has made an unwelcome return. ‘
The pitching staff is riddled with injuries and a team that struggles to score is still without its top slugger, third baseman Alex Bregman, out for a month now with a hamstring pull.
The American League remains ripe for the picking as far as wild-card seeds go, but FanGraphs has Boston’s chances of earning a spot dropping from 32% a week ago down to 16% now.
The Red Sox have pieces on the roster many around the game would covet, notably Bregman–who was hitting .299 when he got hurt and should be back next month–and outfielder Jarren Duran. With the MLB trade deadline fast approaching at the end of July, there is reason for Boston to at least ponder offloading those pieces for long-term prospects.
Craig Breslow: ‘Looking to Improve for 2025’
After the Red Sox traded star slugger Devers to the Giants in a stunner earlier this month, the notion of retrenching around young players and building for the future is a sensible one. But the Red Sox are still in the postseason mix, and after adding Bregman and ace pitcher Garrett Crochet last winter, team president Craig Breslow does not want to take his foot off the gas.
On WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” this week, Breslow repeated the stance he took after the Devers trade. He wants the Red Sox to get better.
“We would be looking to improve our team,” Breslow said. “We would be looking to improve our team for 2025. Because despite the fact that we haven’t been able to string together the consistent performance that we think we’re capable of, we’re still very much staring down a Wild Card chance.
“And nobody has really run away with the AL East. So as we start to get healthy and we start to look externally about ways that can improve the team, we think we’ve got a good chance to make a deep postseason run.”
Red Sox Need 1B Power, Pitching Upgrade
The Red Sox are 40-42, not a traditional spot in the standings for buyers at the deadline. But Breslow is right, the opportunity for a playoff spot is lingering. The immediate needs of the Red Sox are clear–some power hitting, especially a first base, depth in the bullpen and a quality No. 2-level starting pitcher.
It remains to be seen if any of those holes can be filled by players on the roster or in the farm system. Certainly, it would be nice if Red Sox top prosects Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell started living up to their billing and hitting. But that’s asking a lot.
More likely, the Red Sox will add a bat and hope that two new additions from the Devers trade–pitchers Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison–will be enough to solidify the staff.
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