Craig Breslow calls Red Sox’ trade deadline needs ‘fluid,’ plans to ‘bolster’ roster
"Weāre approaching the deadline looking for ways to bolster the team given the play over the last month-and-a-half or so.ā
Craig Breslow seems confident that the Red Sox will be buyers at the trade deadline. However, he doesn’t seem as ready to say what they’ll be buying from the trade market.
In an interview with MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, Breslow described the Red Sox’ deadline needs as “fluid” due to some of the recent individual performances they’ve had at certain positions.
“If we talked 2 1/2 months ago, we would’ve said, ‘We just lost our first baseman for the season and we’ve got to figure that out.’ We’ve gotten really strong play out of Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro,” the Red Sox chief baseball officer said. “But we’ll be open-minded about the opportunities to bring a bat that can play first base.
“Starting pitching, same thing. A month and a half ago, we would’ve said we needed somebody that can pitch toward the front of a rotation. Then, you look at what Lucas [Giolito] and Brayan [Bello] have done, they’re pitching every bit the part of a guy who can pitch at the front of a rotation.”
However, Breslow did emphasize that starting pitching is still a need he’d like to address at the deadline.
“I don’t think you’ll find anybody who comes on here and says that they have enough starting pitching, so that’s going to be an area of focus for us as well,” Breslow said.
Starting pitching has been an area of concern for the Red Sox for most of the season, even with Garrett Crochet making a Cy Young bid and Bello and Giolito pitching better as of late. Walker Buehler has had a 4.09 ERA in two starts this month.
The fifth spot in Boston’s rotation, meanwhile, is in flux. Hunter Dobbins recently suffered a season-ending ACL injury, while Tanner Houck was placed back on the injured list over the weekend. Kutter Crawford also won’t pitch this year after undergoing a wrist operation recently. The relatively unproven Richard Fitts holds the fifth spot in the Red Sox’ rotation, at least for now.
Boston at least seems to be doing its due diligence on the starting pitching front. The most recent rumor links the Red Sox to Diamondbacks pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly as they’ll reportedly scout the two right-handers in their upcoming starts.
As for first base, Gonzalez and Toro have given the Red Sox plus play at the position after Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury in May. With the two players splitting time at the position, Gonzalez has hit .389 with 1.153 OPS against lefties this season. The switch-hitting Toro, meanwhile, has hit .275 with a .773 OPS against righties this year.
Even though Gonzalez and Toro have hit well in Casas’s absence, relying on platoon players at multiple positions isn’t ideal. Gonzalez also figures to be a part of the mix at second base moving forward, while Toro filled in at third during Alex Bregman’s recent absence.
In terms of first base options, Josh Naylor of the Diamondbacks and Ryan O’Hearn of the Orioles seem to be the top two players who could be made available ahead of the trade deadline. The two All-Stars are in the final year of their contracts, playing for teams that are long shots to contend.
The Red Sox also have Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz “high” on their wishlist if he were to be made available, MassLive’s Chris Cotillo recently reported. Tampa Bay is also strongly in the playoff mix, sitting a half-game behind Boston in the standings entering Sunday.
Even as Breslow isn’t sure who or what the team will acquire at the deadline yet, he sounded pretty sure that the Red Sox will be buyers.
“We went into this season taking a very aggressive posture,” Breslow said. “The moves that we made this winter were those that I think signaled that it’s time to compete and that the product we had been putting on the field — the team that we’d been running out there at Fenway — just wasn’t good enough for our fans.
“And so, we’re approaching the deadline looking for ways to bolster the team given the play over the last month-and-a-half or so.”
The Red Sox entered Sunday with a 53-47 record, occupying the final spot in the wild card picture.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com