Red Sox’s Deadline Approach Had Extreme Presence Vs. Astros

If we’re going to put it nicely, we can say the Boston Red Sox took a measured approach to the 2023 Major League Baseball trade deadline.

That’s being really nice.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom didn’t completely punt on the Aug. 1 extravaganza but did spend a great deal of time waiting things out. In the week leading up to the deadline, Boston swapped out middle infielders Kiké Hernández and Luis Urías in a pair of trades, while picking up two Triple-A arms in the process.

That was… it.

There’s no getting around the fact that Red Sox fans were disappointed with the lack of a splash, as 2023 represented the second consecutive season where Boston failed to push all of its chips in the middle. It also hasn’t been easy to come away with a real conclusion, as there’s a level of production that has come with some of the trades Bloom elected not to make. There has been a hodgepodge of opinions over the course of August, with things summed up perfectly during the Red Sox’s blowout loss to the Houston Astros on Monday night.

The easy way to start is with the positive, as there’s only one glaring example for the Red Sox.

Adam Duvall is once again the hottest hitter in the American League. No, really, you can’t even argue it because the 34-year-old was named AL Player of the Week prior to taking the field against the Astros. He then continued his tear, belting a three-run homer to put the Red Sox ahead in the fifth inning. How does that relate to the deadline? Well, Boston had every right to trade Duvall prior to the start of August, as Jarren Duran had firmly taken hold of the center field spot during the former All-Star’s lengthy absence due to a wrist injury. Bloom made the choice to keep his outfield depth, which has paid off with Duran now on the injured list and Duvall serving as the best bat in Boston’s order.

The Red Sox appeared to be in good shape entering the sixth inning after Duvall’s blast, but that’s when the negative outcome of their deadline approach came into play.

There isn’t enough pitching depth for Boston at this point. That might sound insane, considering the Red Sox have added a rotation’s-worth of pitching off the IL in recent weeks, but that depth kind of falls off a cliff as you get to the back half of the bullpen. We don’t want to pile on Kyle Barraclough, but there’s no reason why he should have been allowed to let things blow up in his face Monday. The 33-year-old allowed 10 earned runs on 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings pitched, essentially serving as the only arm left in the Red Sox bullpen.

In what has become a sprint to the final wild-card spot in the AL, that is an unacceptable outcome against one of the teams that is ahead of the Red Sox in the standings. There’s plenty of blame to go around, too, as Bloom, Alex Cora and the starting rotation all had their part. If the season doesn’t end up extending into October, there’s a specific game that could be pointed to as the sum of why.