Red Sox possibly making moves before July 31 trade deadline
Red Sox GM Ben Cherington may be looking to make moves before July 31 trade deadline
It is no secret that the Sox have been struggling in the past few weeks. With a 2-1 win over the Rangers Tuesday night, the Sox jumped back up to .500. Although there was this small silver lining among many lulls, some may believe that the rush to make changes before the trade deadline may be exactly what the Sox need to make a run at playoffs.
“We’ll do what we can [at the trade deadline],” Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said in an interview with WEEI.com last week. “That doesn’t guarantee (anything). It’s not a supermarket you can walk into and say ‘I’ll take one of these and one of these’, you’ve got to find a willing partner to work with and there’s got to be a fit. But are we exploring that avenue? Absolutely.”
One area of possible interest for movement to happen is in the area of pitching. The Red Sox need more reliable, consistently good starting pitchers. Veterans Jon Lester and Josh Beckett have not been performing up to their normal standards. While it does not looking like either Lester or Beckett are up on the chopping block, bringing in some new pitchers to help the Sox out may be a smart strategy from the Sox coaching staff.
Offense has also been an issue for the Red Sox, and the Sox might be interested in dealing some position players. Rumors spread that Carl Crawford could potentially be seeing a trade to the Miami Marlins. However all of the coaching staff and many team members cleared up this rumor and confirm it as a false statement.
As we approach July 31, the race to make trades will get heated and we may see some beloved Red Sox players finding new homes elsewhere in the country. But according to manager Bobby Valentine, the Red Sox do not need to make a splash at the deadline.
“I like my team,” Valentine was quoted as saying in an ESPN.com story. “I like my pitching. I like our defense and our offense. If Ben feels there is a way of improving what we have then I’ll be all for that, too, but I don’t see any gaping holes in our team.”
No gaping holes, that is, aside from all this mishaps that led to a sub-.500 performance through July. With the Red Sox’s poor play this season, Boston fans will be keeping a closer eye on Lucchino and Cherington to see what possible trades the Sox will be making by the end of the month.
