The truth about Trevor Story's prognosis
CHICAGO - The Red Sox can very well look at Thursday afternoon's 6-0 loss to the Twins and simply shrug their shoulders while heading to three games against the White Sox.
Justin Garza dug the Sox a hole they couldn't escape from, giving three runs in the first inning as the team's opener. Byron Buxton did superstar things for the Twins, becoming the first player in the Statcast era to hit multiple homers of 460 feet or further in a single game. And then there was the no-win scenario of having to navigate through the series finale without Alex Verdugo (bereavement list) and against one of the best pitchers in the American League, Joe Ryan.
At the end of the day, the Sox could have simply tipped their collective chapeau to Ryan - who finished with a complete game shutout - reveled in the very solid major league debut of Brandon Walter (6.2 IP, 3 R), and taken heart that the final Wild Card spot was still within spitting distance, sitting 2 1/2 games out.
This, however, should have been a wake-up call. It was, after all, one year and week ago that the Red Sox saw their fortunes take an about face after a 20-6 June, limping into the trade deadline four weeks later due to injuries and underperformance.
As good as that six-game win streak made the Red Sox feel, the door is already opening to letting those good vibes walk out in in the blink of an eye.
First off, the way this team is constructed is largely because of the sum of its parts is making up for the lack of a few get-on-my-back superstars. On the day we were definitively told that not a single Red Sox player will be starting for the American League All-Star team, this sure seemed like a club that could use a few more jolts of simply good, if not great.
Living life without Verdugo, Reese McGuire, Tanner Houck, Chris Sale and even a banged up Pablo Reyes has presented the kind of razor-thin margin this already delicate balance probably won't be able to endure for much longer.
All of a sudden, Worcester's finest - such as Chris Murphy, David Hamilton, and Caleb Hamilton - are being called upon in droves to plug the leaks until the likes of Trevor Story might be able to infuse a bit of star power.
The judgement on whether or not this group fan stem the tide until help arrives probably shouldn't be passed on a day Ryan is on the mound. But what it should do is make Chaim Bloom raise at least one eyebrow.
The proponents of a June shock-and-awe, declaration-making trade are starting to bubble to the surface. They will point to June 28, which as we are reminded every season since 2018 is the date Dave Dombrowski steered the eventual world champs down the right road by dealing for Steve Pearce.
But such a strategy simply doesn't seem all that realistic at this point in the calendar, particularly in the MLB landscape we have found ourselves in. As we sit there, there are probably five teams that would no-doubt-about-it classify themselves as sellers.
What does that mean? If you thought it was going to cost an uncomfortable price to pry free players from one these teams near the Aug. 1 trade deadline, understand that cost would probably be appreciably more five weeks out.
The only real solution now is for those who have established themselves as foundation pieces for this 2023 Red Sox puzzle must be the better versions of themselves. It that doesn't happen? We will once again be on this same roller coaster that chipped away all the optimism from that early-May, eight-game win streak.