While the Red Sox maintain the third-best record in the major leagues, it hasn't stopped general manager Theo Epstein from keeping an eye on the trade market.
According to The Boston Globe, Epstein believes the Sox could be "actively involved" in the month leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.
"We may be very active in trade or we may be less active and do some smaller things. We'll see. We're certainly not a perfect club," Epstein told reporters in Philadelphia. "There are needs that we have and areas we're going to attempt to upgrade."
A few positions of interest for the Sox leading up to the trade deadline is right field and relief pitching. With a slew of injuries in the bullpen and little production from the platoon in right, Epstein admits the club is far from perfect.
"Losing Rich Hill [to season-ending elbow surgery] was a bit of a blow with how effective he looked like he was going to be against good left-handed hitters," Epstein said. "That's something we're still trying to address. [Franklin] Morales is up here now, so we'll see how he does. I think we have the horses to have a really good bullpen, but there will be some tweaking going on."
The Sox started that tweaking early Thursday, announcing that Mike Cameron was designated for assignment.
Cameron has been struck with numerous injuries during his stint with the Sox and has hit just .149 this season.
Some targets for the Sox for the outfield could be the Astros' Hunter Pence and the Royals' Jeff Francoeur; or they could swing for the fences and try to bring in Carlos Beltran from the cash-strapped Mets or either Andre Ethier or Matt Kemp from the even more cash-strapped Dodgers.
For relievers, after losing Hill for the season and with the uncertain health of Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler moving forward, the Sox could try and target Rockies reliever Huston Street or Francisco Rodriguez from the Mets. They could also give a call to San Diego and grab Heath Bell if injuries continue.
All in all, don't expect the same Red Sox team you saw trot out in April hit the field in October.
