As Trade Deadline approaches, Red Sox looking to add pieces
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It’s been a roller-coaster of a ride for the Red Sox this season.
After an eventful offseason that landed them Alex Bregman and Garrett Crochet, Boston entered the season as legitimate playoff contenders. Through the end of June, though, the Red Sox were 42-44 and were unable to string together any consistent stretches of good baseball, not to mention the Rafael Devers saga that resulted in the massive June 15 trade with the Giants.
Then, the Red Sox caught fire, ripping off a 10-game winning streak to end the first half that vaulted Boston back into the playoff picture. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow talked about the club’s Trade Deadline approach, the Devers trade, Boston’s recent success and much more in an MLB Network Radio interview on Sirius XM.
The Red Sox find themselves at 54-47 and in possession of one of the three AL Wild Card spots. They’re even in the race for the AL East title, as they ended this week five games back of the Blue Jays in the division. The recent success has Breslow looking to help supplement the Red Sox at the upcoming Trade Deadline.
“We’re approaching the Deadline looking at ways to bolster the team given the play over the last month or so. The needs seem to be a little bit fluid,” Breslow said.
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Breslow referenced looking to possibly add a first-base bat and said the starting rotation would be another area of focus. After months of discussion about a potential Bregman trade -- Boston’s third baseman can opt out of his three-year, $120 million deal after this season -- the Red Sox find themselves as likely buyers at the Deadline.
Breslow called the decision to trade Devers difficult.
"He’s just a tremendous hitter that fits in the middle of a lineup and gives opposing teams fits,” Breslow said. “But I think the reality is, we weren’t winning as many games as we should. We weren’t an example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. We had a bunch of really good individual performances, but they weren’t stacking up to win as many games as we should have been.”
A funny thing happened pretty soon after the Devers trade: the Red Sox started to turn their season around. To be clear, that’s not to say that Devers was responsible for Boston’s tough beginning -- he certainly did his part on the offensive side of things. But roughly two weeks after the trade, the Red Sox put together their 10-game winning streak to get themselves back in the playoff mix.
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“We played good baseball on both sides. I think you saw this really athletic, dynamic team,” said Breslow. “Pretty young. Run the bases well and play really good outfield defense. We’re creating a lot of pressure on the opposing team. But if you look at our rotation for the last month, Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello have pitched really well. And Crochet has been an absolute anchor since the first pitch of the season.”
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