State of the Red Sox Post Deadline
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The trade Deadline has come and gone. President of Baseball Operations Craig Breslow was active in his first trade deadline making five trades. To evaluate the deadline, we will look at how the moves will affect the current team and how they may affect the future of the organization.
The Trades
Luis Garcia for Matthew Lugo, Ryan Zeferjahn, Yeferson Vargas, and Niko Kavadas
James Paxton for Moises Bolivar
Danny Jansen for Eddinson Paulino, Cutter Coffey, Gilberto Batista
Quinn Priester for Nick Yorke
Lucas Sims for Ovis Portes
The Present
The Red Sox did make improvements. POB Craig Breslow upgraded the catching position, added starting rotation depth, and upgraded the bullpen. The best part of the deadline by Breslow was adding Lucas Sims and Luis Garcia. With the absences of Justin Slaten and Chris Martin, the Red Sox bullpen has been reeling since they returned from the All-Star break. The bullpen has blown 7 leads in the 7th inning or later since the second half began. Adding 2 reliable arms to the bullpen was necessary to stabilize the bullpen until Martin and Slaten return. If the Red Sox bullpen can get healthy, a pen that features Lucas Sims, Luis Garcia, potentially Liam Hendriks, Justin Slaten, Chris Martin, and Kenley Jansen could really shorten the game.
Another big need at the deadline was starting pitching. The addition of Paxton was necessary but it doesn’t increase the Red Sox chances at the playoffs. If James Paxton helps the Red Sox win a game or two, the trade will be worth it. The rotation needed depth. But Paxton being the lone addition that is going to help this young and tired Boston rotation get through the final two months of the season is just unrealistic. The Red Sox have the worst ERA in baseball since the All-Star break (6.75). Expecting Paxton and his 4.43 ERA to be the stabilizer is wishful thinking.
Boston not adding another big league caliber starter will likely be problematic. Tanner Houck is already 23 innings over his career high and Kutter Crawford is 6 innings away from his career high. James Paxton and Cooper Criswell are not the type of quality arms that the Red Sox can afford to use to give Crawford and Houck extra days off to try to manage their workload. By not adding a legitimate starter, it means that Alex Cora will be pushing Houck and Crawford beyond what anyone would be comfortable with. Although there isn’t a set number of innings that a team should allow a pitcher to increase from the previous season, blowing way past a pitcher’s career high when there are signs of fatigue is concerning not only for this season but future seasons.
Although Breslow’s additions will give this team a chance to compete, it does not feel like there was a significant add to believe this team will definitely be playing in October.
The Future
The trade for the future was adding Quinn Priester for Nick Yorke. Although Priester has already spent some time in the big leagues, he is still very much a prospect at the age of 23. Craig Breslow made the decision to deal from a position of depth for a position where the Red Sox need depth. Last season, Priester was the 4th ranked prospect in the Pirates organization. Adding a young, controllable arm with upside is a move that was worth making. As for Priester, he has made 20 appearances in the big leagues (14 starts). He has not had a ton of success (6.46 ERA) but he did have 3 strong outings this season.
vs SF: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 0 R, 6 K
vs OAK: 6 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 2 ER, 3 K
vs MIL: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 ER, 8 K
There is definitely something Andrew Bailey and his team can work with in Priester. If this team believes in their pitching program, Priester is the type of arm they should try to acquire. The Red Sox now have a couple of promising arms in Priester and David Sanlin along with Richard Fitts. With how frequent pitching injuries occur, it would be huge for the Red Sox to have starters who can give the Red Sox quality innings.
The players the Red Sox traded away were players who were unlikely to be in this organization next season. Nick Yorke, Eddinson Paulino, Ryan Zeferjahn, Niko Kavadas, and Matthew Lugo would have needed to be added to the 40-man roster this off-season or they would have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft. All of them could have been on a different team next season and the Red Sox would have gotten nothing for them. This is a great example of smart business by Breslow and his staff. Other than Nick Yorke, the Red Sox did not give up a player that would have had the opportunity to make an impact on the big league roster in the future. Even Nick Yorke was unlikely to make an impact because of the players that are in front of him on the 40-man roster.
Everything the Red Sox did at this year’s deadline was with the intention of maintaining the current core on the Boston Red Sox while also keeping g the organization’s top prospects. I do believe they improved the big league roster but will it be enough to get this club into the postseason for the first time since 2021? Time will tell.