At one point in the season it looked like general manager Ben Cherington and manager John Farrell could be on the hot seat, but a recent run has put the Boston Red Sox back into the playoff race. With the trade deadline two weeks away, will they look to add pieces to improve their pitching staff?
The Red Sox have gone 14-9 in their last 23 games to improve to 42-47 at the All-Star break, which leaves them 6.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East and six games behind the Houston Astros for the second wild-card spot.
This isn't anything to get overly excited about, but it provides a ray of light for Boston after a disastrous start to the season. Additionally, rumors suggest the recent rebound could make them buyers at the trade deadline, specifically for starting pitching - their Achilles heel in 2015.
In fact, Farrell told Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald that adding arms would "go a long way to stabilize things." The Red Sox need some help in the bullpen as well, but the rotation takes precedent given their 28th-ranked 4.75 starter's ERA.
Clay Buchholz, the staff's best starter, hit the disabled list over the weekend with a flexor strain in his right elbow and it's unknown how long he'll be out. Rick Porcello has been awful and Wade Miley has not performed to expectations. Joe Kelly was demoted to Triple-A and the Sox are pretty much relying on rookie left-handers Eduardo Rodriguez and Brian Johnson (who is expected to make his MLB debut this weekend) to aid the struggling veterans.
"When the season starts up again on Friday night against the Angels, the Sox will be playing to prove to Cherington that he should obtain the arms Farrell wants," writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. "The non-waiver trade deadline is July 31 and how the roster looks at the end of that day will indicate whether the team can contend."
However, Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com thinks Cherington will be active on the market regardless.
"Even if the Sox are not in contention at the trading deadline, look for Cherington to make some moves with an eye to next season, although the young pitching the Sox covet is hard to come by. If they're in it, the need for more bullpen help is obvious, and a rental of a starter is not out of the question."
Considering there will likely be an innings limit placed on Rodriguez and Johnson (if he impresses during his stint in Boston), the Red Sox will need someone to help out for the remainder of 2015 and it's likely Cherington prefers someone under contract longer than that. Cole Hamels has long been a target of Boston's, but those trade rumors fizzled out quickly after their poor start.
However, they could be revisited at this point in the season for a few reasons: the Red Sox need an ace to lead their rotation and rumors indicate that Phillies' executives are becoming "realistic" in their trade demands for the left-hander.
There remain other options who may become available as well, such as Johnny Cueto (CIN), David Price (DET), James Shields (SD), Tyson Ross (SD), Andrew Cashner (SD), Scott Kazmir (OAK), Jeff Samardzija (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WSH), Doug Fister (WSH) and others.
Mastrodonato ran a piece today and noted the Red Sox may have to dangle some valuable players - Jackie Bradley Jr., Blake Swihart, Henry Owens, Rusney Castillo and Steven Wright - if they want to land an established starter and beat their AL East rivals on the trade market before the deadline. A few of those names might be off limits because Cherington needs to preserve the farm system, but a sacrifice will have to be made.
The Red Sox will face the Angels, Astros, Tigers and White Sox before the deadline. Cherington's plan will likely be indicative of how the team performs over that span, but expect him to be active on the market in some capacity regardless of what happens.
