What Would You Like the Red Sox to Do Before the Trade Deadline?

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Jul 23, 2011

What Would You Like the Red Sox to Do Before the Trade Deadline? The Red Sox are in a pretty good spot right now. They entered the beginning of this three-game series with the Seattle Mariners owners of one of the best records in all of baseball, and with Friday's 7-4 win they reached the 60-win mark in only 97 games.

The Sox entered the weekend set with the M's 22 games above .500, and with a two-game lead in the AL East. In fact, the closest team to them and the second-place Yankees is Tampa Bay, who sits 7 1/2 games out heading into the weekend.

As good as the positioning may seem, there are still those who feel the Sox should try to get even better as the July 31 trade deadline rapidly approaches.

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein hasn't been shy about being active at the deadline in years past. He shook the foundation of the franchise when he traded Nomar Garciaparra in 2004, and then did the same trading away Manny Ramirez in 2008.

He's not afraid to make a blockbuster move when he has to, but this season may not be one for a blockbuster move. As mentioned, the Sox are really, really good as they are now. Even more, they are still waiting to get a little bit healthier, specifically in the starting rotation. Jon Lester is scheduled to return on Monday, and while the timetable for a Clay Buchholz return is uncertain, there still isn't a large amount of worry that he won't be OK.

Perhaps because of all of that, Epstein and the baseball operations team won't make a move at the deadline. Or, perhaps they will make one or two smaller moves to help shore up some spots. Epstein has admitted that they are in the market for a right-handed bat, and rumors about potential interest in Royals right fielder Jeff Francoeur may be proof of that.

And of course, who isn't in the market for relief pitching at this time of the year?

What would you like the Red Sox to do by the trade deadline?

Friday, July 22: Has Carlos Beltran played his last home game with the Mets?

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