The Red Sox have started to change the conversation ... just in time.
If Alex Cora's team hadn't gone on its recent hot streak - winning eight of its last 10 - then the kind of discomfort that we saw eight years ago might be bubbling to the surface. That would, of course, be trade deadline involving players nobody anticipated leaving town midway through a season.
One player with a unique perspective of it all is Xander Bogaerts.
The Red Sox shortstop would likely be on of the candidates to be dealt at the trade deadline if his club fell out of contention, having the option to opt-out of his current deal at season's end. He also is the one player on this team who experienced the 2014 downturn that ultimately led to the Sox dealing John Lackey, Jon Lester, Andrew Miller and Jonny Gomes.
"You don’t want to go through something like that," Bogaerts told WEEI.com. "I don’t think anyone does. Sometimes it doesn’t go the way you want it to go. I remember those times. It was tough. I was young, so I didn’t have much experience with that type of stuff but I remember a lot of talks about that type of stuff. We were straight-up out of it."
When May 27, 2014 rolled around, the Red Sox were eight games under .500, having finally snapped a 10-game losing streak. They sat in last-place in the American League East with the A.L.'s second-worst record.
Bogaerts recalls that season and how the Red Sox were still trying to right the ship as May turned into June, acquiring Stephen Drew to play shortstop. By the time the trade deadline rolled around two months later, Drew was one of the players being shipped out.
"No one wants to think of that stuff," said Bogaerts The only thing we can go out there and do is control winning."
The shortstop added, "Obviously, we have a really good team. We’ve been playing the way we’re capable of. It’s just a matter of going out and executing day in and day out to put ourselves in the best position to prevent something like that."
The Red Sox have certainly done their part of late to eliminate any thoughts of becoming sellers at the Deadline, sitting just three games out of a playoff spot with only one team ahead of them.
Has the 2014 scenario crept into Bogaerts' mind? "I haven't thought about it," he said of the potential Deadline uncertainty. It's a mindset he's planning on not letting go of.
"We didn’t start off nice. I wouldn’t say anyone panicked, although there was urgency because we know what we’re capable of and we wanted to turn it around," he said. "I’m just happy we’re playing better baseball."
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