The Boston Red Sox are less than three weeks away from the MLB trade deadline, and they have yet to commit to buying or selling.
Over their last 26 completed games (not including the suspended meeting with the Toronto Blue Jays), the Red Sox are 18-8, and they've been one of the hottest teams in baseball.
Still, they could use some help if they want to secure their spot in the postseason and potentially make a run if they do make it to the playoffs.
The Athletic's Jim Bowden recently put together his thoughts on where all 30 teams stand heading into the deadline, and he expects Boston to target two specific needs via trade.
Here's what Bowden wrote:
“The Red Sox have overachieved once again, which has been a consistent theme in Boston during Alex Cora’s tenure as manager. He’s done a great job of developing young talent such as Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela, and now the Red Sox are playing like a legit playoff-caliber team. In terms of trades, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has been searching for a veteran starting pitcher and a right-handed power bat. I expect they’ll fill both of those needs by the deadline.”
While Boston's rotation started the year as the best in the league, they've come back to earth in recent months, and their need for a right-handed bat was on full display during Wednesday night's 5-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
The Red Sox should be buyers. At this point, no one is doubting that. However, whether they'll actually pull the trigger or not is something completely different.
