Red Sox Stay Pat at Trade Deadline

As I type this it is 4:00 PM / ET. That means the 2019 MLB Trade Deadline is officially over. That would also mean the Boston Red Sox have made no move. Their 2019 roster is basically set. That means there is no bullpen help coming to Fenway Park until at least next season.

You just need to log on to Twitter to see how Red Sox fans feel about this. Angry, frustrated, etc. Boston did get Andrew Cashner before the deadline, but as they fight for their playoff lives they needed to get even better. They did not.

The three teams- other than the Sox- that are really attacking the American League Wild Card spots are the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians, and Oakland Athletics. All three made moves to get better. The Indians got Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes to boost their offense (albeit at Trevor Bauer’s expense). Tampa went out and got 2018 all-star first baseman Jesus Aguilar, and the A’s went out and got Tanner Roark to bolster their rotation. Boston watched.

You can argue that even without a move Boston’s team is better / more talented than any of those squads, but they have problems (or a problem) and they decided not to address it. Kudos to Dave Dombrowski and the rest of Boston’s front office for thinking they can win with the team they have now, but stack them up against those wild card contenders, the New York Yankees, and the Houston Astros (who went out and got Zack Greinke), do they have a chance? Anything can happen in baseball but when I shake the magic 8-ball the outlook is “not so great”, especially when they’ve struggled against good teams all year.

-Jarrod Ribaudo (@Jribs53)