The Red Sox didn't welcome many new faces after Tuesday's trade deadline, however, Boston's front office was exploring options.
After it was all said and done, the Red Sox acquired infielder Luis Urías in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, giving Boston some much-needed defensive depth. But that wasn't the only addition that Boston considered before the clock hit zero.
"We looked at a lot of opportunities to see what's out there and if it makes sense, then we were hoping to do things that would help improve the team over the course of the last couple of weeks," Red Sox general manager Brian O'Halloran said on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" on Thursday. "I think we did a number of small things that help us, but we weren't able to line up on anything that was kind of a bigger needle mover. We talked about a lot of things but just none of them ended up making sense."
The Red Sox reportedly looked into acquiring Justin Verlander, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, before the right-hander eventually got traded from the New York Mets to the Houston Astros.
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Even without Verlander shipping up to Boston, the Red Sox have plenty to look forward to with various impending additions in place. Boston still awaits the returns of Trevor Story, Chris Sale, Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock, as the rest of the team keeps a playoff window open.
Before hosting the Blue Jays for a three-game series at Fenway Park, Boston trails Toronto by two games in the American League wild card race. Needless to say, the postseason is well within reach as the Red Sox have 54 games left, including six scheduled against the Blue Jays.
"Yes, 100% we believe in this team," O'Halloran explained. "We have to obviously go out and do it. We're not in a playoff spot right at this moment. But we have a great opportunity in front of us."
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