Even after losing two of three to an undermanned New York Yankees team this past weekend, the Boston Red Sox still find themselves atop the American League East, but only slightly.
The defending American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays will enter play Monday just a half game back of the Red Sox, while the Toronto Blue Jays and Yankees remain within striking distance as well.
On Monday's Baseball Tonight Podcast, Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian both agreed that the Red Sox are World Series contenders who would benefit from being aggressive in advance of the July 30 trade deadline. However, the two long-time ESPN scribes, like just about everyone, aren't exactly sure how chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom -- who made his name leading the small-market Rays -- will operate:
Kurkjian: ...I'm sure Alex [Cora] is thinking 'We gotta upgrade this team if we're gonna win this division.' And I think they will, but their COO is not exactly built to trade to get people at the deadline. Would you agree?
Olney: Yeah, Chaim Bloom, head of baseball ops for the Red Sox, he was with the Tampa Bay Rays. And I think that's a question a lot of his peers have: how aggressive will he be? Will he look for incremental-type moves or could he potentially step forward and make the big move? That's why I think everyone wonders how much John Henry, Tom Werner and the owners get involved in this conversation about what to do.
Reacquiring closer Craig Kimbrel -- a possibility that we examined earlier this month -- would certainly represent a major move. Kurkjian took things a step further, pondering the idea of the Red Sox acquiring both Kimbrel and first baseman Anthony Rizzo from the Cubs, though Audacy MLB Insider Jon Heyman reported late last week that Chicago would prefer to re-sign Rizzo than trade him.
In any event, Bloom's actions this month will be especially interesting to follow. His mentor, Andrew Friedman, has managed to balance protecting the farm system and building the most cost-effective team with knowing when to go all-in since leaving Tampa Bay for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now, Bloom will be faced with a similar task.
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