Red Sox

What are the Red Sox’ top needs before trade deadline?

A Red Sox bullpen sporting an ERA over 6.00 in July needs a shot in the arm.

Craig Breslow and the Red Sox still have a few hours to go before the MLB trade deadline. Barry Chin / The Boston Globe

By Conor Ryan

July 30, 2024

With just hours to go before Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline, Craig Breslow and the Red Sox still seemingly have plenty of work to do.

Boston has already been active on the transaction wire this past week, acquiring another starter in James Paxton, a backup catcher in Danny Jansen, and more pitching depth in Quinn Priester.

Still, even though Breslow signaled last week that the Red Sox intend to be aggressive at the deadline, the team’s results have been lacking as of late — with Boston stalling any semblance of momentum by winning just three of its last 10 games since returning from the All-Star break.

Granted, some of these recent shortcomings could be corrected if Breslow and his staff reel off another couple of trades before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. deadline.

With the deadline rapidly approaching, here are the areas of the roster that the Red Sox should try to shore up in the next few hours.

Bullpen help

The Red Sox’ bullpen hasn’t just taken on water this month. At this point, it’s already floundering at the bottom of the Charles.

With setup men Chris Martin and Justin Slaten still on the mend with injuries, the rest of Boston’s relief corps has been taxed heavily — with Kenley Jansen, Zack Kelly, Greg Weissert, and Brennan Bernardino all unfortunately falling into ruts at the same time.

As noted by Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, the Red Sox’ bullpen entered Monday’s game against the Mariners with a 6.39 ERA in July — their third-worst in any month this century. Of Boston’s 10 games since the All-Star break, they have blown eight leads in the seventh inning or later.

It’s a demoralizing downturn for what has otherwise been an area of strength for Boston so far this season.

Reinforcements might be on the way between Martin, Slaten and even Liam Hendriks if his surgically repaired elbow is cleared. But those potential returns might not be in the cards until mid-August — which is too long of a wait for a Red Sox team trying to remain in the playoff hunt.

Given their absence of proven relievers as of late, it should come as little surprise that the Red Sox have been linked to arguably the best reliever on the trade market in Florida’s Tanner Scott.

Scott is an All-Star talent (18 saves, 1.18 ERA, 53 strikeouts in 45.2 innings of work) who would immediately bolster Boston’s bullpen — which should only improve once players like Martin, Slaten, and potentially Hendriks return in the coming weeks.

But given the premium placed on high-end relievers at this time of the year, the Red Sox might have to pay a pretty penny to pry an arm like Scott from the Marlins.

Another steady starter

The addition of a veteran starter like Paxton stood as a proactive move by Breslow, especially when it came to shoring up the back end of Boston’s rotation.

But even with that addition, the case can certainly be made that the Red Sox need to add another proven starter — especially with so many key arms for Boston currently wading into uncharted territory during the dog days of the 2024 season.

Tanner Houck, who was pitching like a legitimate Cy Young candidate for most of the season, has already surpassed his career-high for innings pitched in a single year. In an unfortunate correlation, he has sported a 5.26 ERA over his last five starts — walking 15 batters over 25.2 innings of work.

Kutter Crawford has also been steady for most of this season, but he’s only seven innings away from reaching his career-high — while Nick Pivetta and Brayan Bello have been inconsistent at times this year.

While it might be asking a lot for the Red Sox to cash in some of their blue-chip prospects in search of a young, ace pitcher like Garrett Crochet, another steady starter like Jameson Taillon or Jack Flaherty would make a sizable difference for this Boston rotation.

A right-handed bat

Even though the Red Sox’ offense has not necessarily been a primary area of concern, another right-handed bat with some pop could give Alex Cora some much-needed flexibility moving forward.

With Triston Casas still on the mend from a rib injury, the Red Sox have primarily used Dominic Smith as their primary first baseman. Even though Smith has driven in 32 runs over 70 games this season, a right-handed bat could allow Boston to chase more matchups against southpaws.

According to The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, the Red Sox have expressed interest in right-handed sluggers like Oakland’s Brent Rooker and Miami’s Josh Bell.

Rooker might be the best bat available on the market at this stage of the season, with the outfielder/DH batting .296 with 25 home runs and 75 RBI so far this season. He has a swing tailor made for Fenway Park, although it remains to be seen where Boston would place him with Masataka Yoshida currently occupying Boston’s DH spot.

Bell, who plays first base for the Marlins, might be a more logical (and affordable) fit for Boston, with the 31-year-old infielder batting .239 with 14 home runs and 49 RBI so far this season.