Ben Cherington isn’t ready to start the fire sale just yet. In fact, the Boston Red Sox general manager doesn’t seem all that interested in having one this season.
While Cherington is cognizant of the Red Sox’s less-than-ideal situation, the optimistic GM said Thursday morning on WEEI’s “Dennis & Callahan” that it’s still entirely possible Boston could add pieces to the big league roster this season rather than subtract pieces in an effort to build for the future.
“I think the more general statement is that we’re going to work to get to a good team, get to the team that we believe we are actually closer to than many believe, as quickly as we can,” Cherington said. “So I foresee a scenario where we would even be interested in acquiring major league players, adding to the major league team.
“Depending on what our record is, it may be that those types of talks would be more geared toward players that we control, not just this year, but beyond this year. But I think that’ll continue to be where our focus is.”
The Red Sox fell to 10 games under .500 (32-42) with Thursday’s 8-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. They’re in last place in the American League East and face a daunting uphill climb. Every other team in the division owns a record above .500, and Boston’s situation seems to worsen each day.
That said, no one in the Red Sox’s clubhouse is throwing in the towel. And while some outside critics might suggest the Red Sox should trade major leaguers with value, like Clay Buchholz, before it’s too late, Cherington is holding out hope that Boston will jump into the playoff race with a good run before the July 31 Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline.
“I really think our focus is going to be to continue to improve the team, build the team that we want, as quickly as we can,” Cherington said. “With respect to the record, of course that’s going to have to guide us a little bit on certain types of transactions. But the big picture, the bigger considerations we’re going to be focused on trying to improve the team and be as good as we can as quickly as we can, and so Clay obviously can be a big part of that.”
The Red Sox found themselves in a similar situation last season in that it was unclear until mid- to late July whether Boston would buy, sell or stand pat at the trade deadline. They ultimately decided to deal away pieces, including Jon Lester, John Lackey and Andrew Miller.
This season is slightly different in the sense that Boston doesn’t have quite as many tradeable major league assets. But if Cherington’s wish is granted, it won’t matter, because the Red Sox will be the ones making a splash.
Either way, the clock is ticking. And the Red Sox will need to soon choose a path.
Click for Cherington’s full interview >>
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@AdamMKaufman
