Thanks to a rough couple of weeks to start the month, the Red Sox currently find themselves without an American League Wild Card spot.
But Xander Bogaerts isn’t feeling discouraged at Major League Baseball’s midsummer break. In fact, the All-Star shortstop wants to see the Red Sox make a real run at it.
Bogaerts joined FOX Sports before Monday night’s Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium and encouraged Boston to add ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline.
“We saw what happened last year,” Bogaerts said. “I mean, we played the Wild Card Game. No one expected us to win and we beat the Yankees, you know? So, anything can happen in the Wild Card Game. I feel like we should get some help. We saw what happened last year — we got (Kyle) Schwarber. That’s someone that carried the team for multiple stretches last year. I don’t know if we can get someone of that impact, but it would be nice to get some help for sure.”
Chaim Bloom back in early June hinted at the club adding some bullpen help before the deadline. Mind you, the Red Sox chief baseball officer made those comments when Boston still was a few games under .500. So Bloom, like Bogaerts, might not be feeling demoralized about the team’s latest slide.
It’s tough to envision the Red Sox making a colossal splash by Aug. 2. But considering how tightly contested the Wild Card field is at present, even a mid-level move or two might help Boston separate itself as one of the three best.
