Ranking prospects involved in all these trades
The Red Sox did themselves no favors in San Francisco over the weekend, which might have been perfectly on brand for this group. If there is one thing we have learned about this 2023 group, it doesn't enjoy making things easy on themselves.
Bad baserunning. Questionable fielding. And, yet, still good enough to hang with postseason contenders. It was all on display in the Sox' second straight walk-off loss to the Giants - (for a complete recap, click here) - as it has been for the majority of this season.
Fortunately for the Red Sox, even with the last two losses their Trade Deadline conversation hasn't seem to been altered all that much.
- The Sox sit 2 1/2 games out of the Wild Card thanks to Sunday losses by both the Blue Jays and Astros. They are one game up on the Yankees, 1 1/2 ahead of the all-in Angels and two in front of the team they are about to play, the Mariners.
- Who is available and who isn't is coming into focus:
1. According to Major League sources whose teams have engaged in talks with the Red Sox, it is clear that there is no interest in dealing Justin Turner even though he can become a free agent after the 2023 season if he decides to decline his player option for 2024.
2. Despite the rapidly thinning starting pitcher market - with St. Louis' Jordan Montgomery the most recent to come off the board, joining Max Scherzer in Texas - a James Paxton deal seems like a long-shot. Sources say that the Red Sox aren't motivated to move the starter - who can be a free agent after this season - unless they are "blown away" by an offer. The goal would still seemingly be to supplement the rotation rather than risk being left in a bad spot if the likes of Chris Sale, Tanner Houck or Garrett Whitlock don't pan out.
3. As was reported by MassLive.com Sunday night, Alex Verdugo's name continues to circulate within the trade conversations. The first sign that this was a very real possibility came when the outfielder revealed last week that he still hadn't engaged in contract extension talks despite his opportunity to jump into free agency after the 2024 season. Then you have the reality that because he has the rest of this year and next under team control Verudgo's value is going to be at its peak, a notion Chaim Bloom's Rays realized when dealing David Price at the 2014 Deadline despite having another year of control over the pitcher.
4. The Red Sox' clubhouse clearly has been pining for another pitcher at the Deadline, but if there going to be a legitimate run this club is going to have to continue to get best-case-scenario performances from its position player. Other than Justin Turner, that wasn't necessarily the case against the Giants. Perhaps Trevor Story - who is slated to return Friday - offers a bit more room for error, but the Sox can't afford a downturn from Masa Yoshida, Jarren Duran, Triston Casas and certainly Rafael Devers if this is going to work.
5. Other teams are certainly attempting to take advantage of this flawed American League landscape, with the all-in Angels - who sit four games out of the Wild Card - being the perfect example. The Rangers aren't all that behind their American League West competitors when it comes to aggressiveness, snatching two of the premier starters on the market over the weekend in Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery. The Blue Jays get some doubt with closer Jordan Romano's health? They go out and get flamethrower Jordan Hicks. The Sox? They took a flier on recently-DFA'd reliever Mauricio Llovera, whose foray into a few pivotal late-game moments didn't work out all that well.
It seems like American League clubs are smelling blood in the water. The question is if the Red Sox are sniffing the same thing.