Opinions vary greatly on what exactly the defending World Series champions will do before the 2019 Major League Baseball trade deadline.
While some expect the Red Sox to make a splash in the hours leading up to 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, with New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz among the players linked to Boston, others expect Dave Dombrowski and Co. to focus on smaller moves given the organization’s prospect capital and lack of financial flexibility.
ESPN.com published a piece Tuesday in which MLB experts Buster Olney, Sam Miller, Jeff Passan and Bradford Doolittle shared their thoughts on what will transpire in the coming hours. Each expects Boston, which recently acquired starting pitcher Andrew Cashner from the Baltimore Orioles, to at least pursue bullpen help.
Here’s what each expert said:
Olney: They are aggressively chasing bullpen help and would love to have Diaz — but they don’t match up very well with the win-now Mets because their best prospects are not major league-ready. On paper, the best possible match for the Mets and Red Sox in a Diaz deal might be Andrew Benintendi, who could play center field for the Mets — and if Boston does this, it would solve its closer issue for the foreseeable future.
Miller: I think they’ll get more relievers.
Passan: The Red Sox will add a bullpen arm. The quality depends on the willingness of teams with more assets to acquire the top-end arms.
Doolittle: They’ll add more bullpen help, but I’m not sure how impactful it will be because it’s such a sellers’ market when it comes relievers and the Red Sox don’t have a ton of organizational depth from which to deal.
The Red Sox certainly could use another reliever or two given the inconsistency of their bullpen this season. Their farm system isn’t as stacked as it once was, however, and Boston seemingly would like to avoid exceeding the $246 million luxury tax threshold and the harsh sanctions that would be levied against the franchise for surpassing that top-line mark in consecutive years.
Not to mention there are several other contenders across MLB chasing bullpen help, further complicating matters for the Red Sox in their reported pursuit of Diaz, among others.
