The Boston Red Sox ended up making some moves ahead of the Major League Baseball trade deadline, which was Friday at 4 p.m. ET.
Some Boston fans might be concerned about the major acquisitions made by the New York Yankees as the first-place Red Sox try to fend off the advancing Tampa Bay Rays. Former Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks would like a word with those folks.
Middlebrooks, whose six-year MLB career began in Boston in 2012, shared a photo of the 2013 World Series-winning team and urged Red Sox fans not to worry.
"Guess what...you don't need to have an all-star at every position to be a winning ball club," he wrote. "Pinky promise."
The 2013 Red Sox had 30-1 odds to win the Fall Classic entering that season. After a miserable 2012 campaign that saw the club finish 69-93, they had two 2-13 All-Stars -- David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia.
Now an analyst for CBS Sports, Middlebrooks fired off the tweet before the Red Sox made a pair of deadline moves -- acquiring reliever Hansel Robles and left-hander reliever Austin Davis. Those moves came after a deal that brought in outfielder Kyle Schwarber from the Washington Nationals.
For what it's worth, the 2021 Red Sox have All-Stars at five positions -- shortstop (Xander Bogaerts), third base (Rafael Devers), starting pitcher (Nathan Eovaldi), designated hitter (J.D. Martinez) and closer (Matt Barnes).
All told, it's tough to argue with Middlebrooks.
