MLB Insider Takes Hard Stance On Red Sox’s Trade Deadline Strategy

After a brief rough patch following last month’s Rafael Devers trade, the Boston Red Sox have surged back into contention lately. They’ve won seven straight games, improving to 50-45 and taking control of the third Wild Card spot in the American League.

The Red Sox are also getting healthier after losing several key players to injuries in the first half. Masataka Yoshida made his season debut on Wednesday, while Alex Bregman and Hunter Dobbins are set to rejoin the team on Friday.

With young players like Roman Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela getting more comfortable and veterans like Walker Buehler and Lucas Giolito bouncing back from slow starts, Boston is trending in the right direction heading into the All-Star Break.

Given the Red Sox’s recent momentum, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal took a hard stance on how they should approach the July 31 Trade Deadline in his article for The Athletic (subscription required) on Friday.

“The Sox have enough prospects. What they need is a No. 2 starter and bullpen help, in addition to Bregman,” Rosenthal writes. “After saving $255 million in the Devers trade, they need not engage in buy-sell scenarios. They should be buyers, period.”

Rosenthal thinks Boston should be focused on adding talent at the trade deadline, not subtracting any by trading away established veterans such as Bregman, Jarren Duran or Aroldis Chapman.

He says the Red Sox should go after pitching help, and Craig Breslow agrees. Boston’s chief baseball officer said on Thursday that he plans to prioritize starting pitching at the trade deadline.

With 67 games to go, there’s a lot of baseball left to be played. The Red Sox have a tough schedule coming out of the All-Star Break, and FanGraphs only gives them a 41.3% chance of making the playoffs.

Getting Bregman, Yoshida and Dobbins back is a good start, but Boston needs to stay aggressive and keep adding if it wants to reach the postseason for the first time since 2021.