I spent the last two days trying to figure out if the Red Sox were winners or losers at the MLB trade deadline. The biggest issue in forming an opinion is that the Sox did nothing that would effect the major league club this year.
The roster moves were internal. The designated outfielder Jeremy Hermida for assignment and traded reliever Ramon Ramirez to the San Francisco Giants for pitching prospect Daniel Turpen. To fill the major league roster they called up outfielder Ryan Kalish. They are also trying minor leaguers Dustin Richardson, Michael Bowden and Felix Doubront in the bullpen.
The only major (and I use that term very, very loosely) move was adding a back-up catcher in Jarrod Saltalamacchia for a pair of no name prospects. Where Saltalamacchia will fit in is anyones guess, though I’m betting his impact will be minimal at best.
The reports are that they were in talks for a number of middle relievers including Kerry Woods and Scott Downs, but the asking price was too high.
“I like our internal solutions,” Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told ESPN. “Otherwise we wouldn’t be creating spots for these guys. We wouldn’t move Felix Doubront to the ‘pen if we didn't think he could help. We wouldn't move [Michael] Bowden to the ‘pen if we didn't think he could help. And we wouldn't have called up Richardson today if we didn't think he could help.”
The desperation for a move comes from the fact that the Sox are in the AL East and every July at the deadline they are compared to the New York Yankees and now the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Yankees made a splash with past their prime players like Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood, as well as outfielder Austin Kearns, while the Rays did nothing.
The reasons for not making a move are understandably when you consider that within the next few weeks the Red Sox will be adding four former All Stars to the roster without giving anything away. Both Mike Lowell and Jacoby Ellsbury are currently in the minors on rehab assignments and Dustin Pedroia and Jason Varitek, while further out, are on track to return as well.
The addition of these four players will make a huge difference to this team. Getting them back in the line-up means the Sox can stop using Bill Hall, Erik Patterson, Jed Lowrie and Darnell McDonald as everyday players.
I’m not against what the Sox did as right now they will need to go on a pretty good run to get back into the playoff hunt and shipping out prospects for middle relief help or a two month rental in the outfield would do more damage then good for a team that may not even do anything.
Now how the next month plays out though will determine whether the Sox are buyers or sellers at the August 31 waiver deadline, and we will get to go through this all over again.
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