Why Red Sox Won’t Be In Rush To Strike Deal By Trade Deadline

The Boston Red Sox might be content with the current roster as is.

With weeks to consider adding a depth piece or two ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline, the Red Sox kicked off their post-All-Star break run on a rough note. Boston split a six-game stretch against below .500 teams — Cubs and Athletics — by going 3-3, including two consecutive losses to a Major League Baseball-worst Oakland team. This unfolded after the Red Sox entered the break winners of five straight and 8-1 through their last nine at the time.

Yet, all hope isn’t lost. Boston enters Friday night’s homestand opener against the Mets just 2.5 games behind in the American League Wild Card race, but even with that in mind, Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy feels the in-house optimism should pertain to the current roster rather than what the front office could acquire from the outside.

“I just don’t want to make a trade at the trade deadline just to make a trade,” Kennedy said on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Thursday. “I think you want to make a deal to bolster what you have if you need to, if you have holes, which, really interesting as we come into this trade deadline. We’re right in the mix here. We’re 51-46. Think we’re two or three games out of a wild card spot. Obviously not where we want to be, but recognizing we’ve got 40% of the schedule remaining.

“We’ve got the potential post-trade deadline for three impact starters to come back hopefully in the month of August with (Garrett Whitlock) and Tanner (Houck) and Chris Sale and then, fingers crossed, but we might have Trevor Story coming back sooner than later, an impact arm in the bullpen in John Schreiber. So, frankly, it’s much more important that we get those guys back and healthy and contributing, because of they had been healthy over the balance of the season, we probably wouldn’t be a couple games out of the wild card. I think we’d be firmly ensconced in a playoff position.”

So far, the Red Sox — albeit with a few rough patches in the process — have managed to keep the season and their playoff hopes sustainable despite being hit with more than enough adversity. Over half the starting rotation isn’t healthy, plus Boston manager Alex Cora has needed to readjust the roles of players, pitching aside, whether that’d be the middle infield or outfield.

But despite it all, the Red Sox haven’t ducked under the covers, still fighting and still maintaining a competitive edge in a very competitive AL East, most recently surpassing the now-last-place Yankees in the division standings amid their four-game losing streak.

With several voices in the locker room already making their case for the organization’s possible trade market engagement, Boston could further support its case by sparking a new hot streak. Returning home, the Red Sox will host a Mets team that — like the A’s and Cubs — are playing below .500 baseball with October a far-fetched feat for New York this season — an ideal opponent for Boston right now.