Curious about the Boston Red Sox’s trade deadline strategy? Well, you might need to wait a little longer.
While Dave Dombrowski remains committed to tweaking Boston’s roster where necessary in pursuit of another World Series title, he can’t quite identify the Red Sox’s biggest pain points yet because it’s been an up-and-down season for the defending champions. As such, don’t bank on the Red Sox president of baseball operations rushing into anything huge about a month and a half before the July 31 Major League Baseball trade deadline.
“(My approach) really hasn’t changed because it really hasn’t been defined,” Dombrowski told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo this week. “If we are in a position to win– and I still believe we will have a chance to do that– we’ll be aggressive in that regard.”
The Red Sox entered Friday with a 36-34 record, putting them 6 1/2 games behind the first-place New York Yankees and six games behind the second-place Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. A division crown still is well within reach, especially given the talent on Boston’s roster, but the Red Sox need to find their stride soon or else a wild-card berth will become the best-case scenario. The Rays and Texas Rangers entered Friday in control of the AL’s two wild card spots, with the Red Sox one game behind the latter.
“We’re always open to improving,” Dombrowski told Cotillo of whether Boston will consider making a move sooner rather than later. “I don’t know that answer. I just don’t know. We have our scouts out there looking at players but they’ve been doing that all year long. If the right opportunity becomes available, you’re always willing to do it.”
This season’s wheeling and dealing could be a bit different, as MLB eliminated the Aug. 31 waiver trade deadline in favor of one uniform trade deadline on July 31. The Red Sox — and plenty of other teams across the league, for that matter — still are looking in the mirror, though, attempting to gauge how many issues can be solved internally and how many will require outside augmentation.
