After being swept by the Toronto Blue Jays, the Boston Red Sox hit the road for a West Coast trip beginning on Friday night against the Seattle Mariners. Boston sits at 29-42 and is buried in the basement of the American League East.
The only team in MLB with fewer wins is the Colorado Rockies, who have 28. That’s not the company the Red Sox want to be joining in June. Unless some unforeseen big turnaround happens, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow will likely be selling by the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
If and when he goes that route, there will be no shortage of options he’ll have to move. Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report listed the top trade chip sellers that will be available at the deadline. When it comes to Breslow and the Red Sox, they will have plenty of decisions to make.
Boston Red Sox Have Plenty of Trade Chips To Deal at the Deadline
Breslow’s phone should be ringing a lot over the next couple of months when it comes to the trade market. Rymer believes that Boston has five players who could be moved that teams would covet. Closer Aroldis Chapman, right-hander Sonny Gray, first baseman Willson Contreras, outfielder Jarren Duran, and right-handed relief pitcher Garrett Whitlock.
“The sooner this Red Sox team is put out of its misery, the better. Chapman is going to be the top relief pitcher on the market, while Gray and Contreras can be counted among the best starters and bats. With his 164 OPS+ and 16 homers, the latter is especially valuable amid a year when good righty hitters are hard to find,” Rymer wrote.
If there is ever a season where Breslow can start selling pieces and getting some decent returns, it’s this summer. Chapman is someone teams would be lining up for to add to the backend of their bullpen. Despite giving up the game-winning run to the Blue Jays in the top of the ninth inning on Thursday afternoon, he still sports a 0.83 ERA. His stuff is still electric.
It feels like, and has felt like for some time, that moving on from Duran is going to happen, sooner or later. It should have happened last winter, as bringing back five outfielders for three spots never really made sense. Gray would be someone teams could add to the middle or backend of a rotation as depth. He has been good for Boston this season.
Boston Red Sox Likely To Sell at the Trade Deadline
With each passing day, it’s just a matter of if, not when. Injuries and some players underperforming are catching up to a team that didn’t have a good roster when they broke spring training back in March. It’s clear that Alex Cora was not the problem when he was fired by Breslow in April.
Decisions are going to be made, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see some big names traded by Aug. 3. It’s one thing to sell; it’s another thing to cash in on what you’re selling for a return that can help down the line. Breslow’s future in Boston is cloudy, at best, and unless something. changes over the next two months, he’ll have some decisions facing him in Boston.
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