A John Henry conversation and trade deadline talk
"I have a lot of faith in what Craig and the organization are doing." - Red Sox principal owner John Henry.
There you have it. The Rudy on the Stool/fire and brimstone declaration passed on from the Red Sox owner to WEEI.com before Friday night's game against the Dodgers. It was about as much of a public 'go get 'em' as you are going to get from Henry.
Do your best to now lower the trade deadline-induced heart rate.
But while this might not have been to the level of Kurt Russell's "Miracle" beat-the-Russians missive, it does represent the tone of what chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and Co. are facing this week. The message and the mission for this edition of the late-July Red Sox should be clear.
They are a good team - as was evident in its 4-3 win over the Dodgers Sunday - but they are also seemingly a few pieces away from having a great, not good, season.
"It's been fun," said Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman. "My first year in the big leagues, we came here in the playoffs, and that'll always be stuck in my head, how crazy that environment was. And it's feeling more and more like that, I think, because not only do we believe that we're a playoff ball club, but I think our fans do as well."
The good news is that a lot of what they have landed with has been the best-case scenario. Bregman is back, as we were reminded with his game-changing, two-run homer Sunday. Ceddanne Rafaela has emerged as a huge difference-maker, particularly since he can fill the second base void left behind by the injured Marcelo Mayer. And then there is Roman Anthony.
There was Bregman talking Anthony: "He's doing it. He's going to be a special, special player. So it's definitely fun hitting in front of or behind him in this lineup. And reminds me of earlier in my career when Yordan Alvarez got called up. That's my player comp for him."
Or Walker Buehler adding his two cents on the rookie: "I think he's going to be one of the best players in the big leagues very, very soon. Personally, I think his brain and obviously the physical stuff that everyone can see. But who he is as a person, I think, is pretty special. I've been around some really good ones. I've been around Corey (Seager) and Cody (Bellinger), and seen those guys as they progress through the first couple years of their career. And he's definitely cut from that cloth. He's exciting."
Point taken.
Anthony has been one of the most important pieces of this entire equation since the mid-June roster upheaval. Since June 28, the rookie has reached base in 29 of his 32 games, possessing the fourth-best on-base percentage (.433) over that stretch. He has been a big reason the Red Sox are still allowed to have World Series dreams heading into the regular season's final two months.
However, it also seems fairly obvious that without the necessary adjustments this week, those dreams can quickly turn into all-too-familiar August and September nightmares.
The first mission for Breslow is to get the proper read on the room. It was the downfall of the Red Sox this time of year in both 2022 and 2023. It was also something Dave Dombrowski expertly managed in 2018, yet whiffed on the following year.
Multiple major league sources have said that the Red Sox are no longer entertaining the idea of trading Jarren Duran, which is an obvious step in the right direction in the eyes of this current clubhouse.
This group is one of the closer collections in recent memory, having weathered significant storms together on the way to this current existence of a wild card team with a 51.9 percent chance of making the postseason, according to Fangraphs. (The Red Sox were at 36.2 percent this time a year ago.)
Now that they have gone through this post-All-Star break gauntlet of the Cubs, Phillies and Dodgers, the motivation hasn't moved much. Priority No. 1 is still finding a starting pitcher who can be relied on to perform in the postseason. Even without the Joe Ryan option, there are plenty of opportunities to reel in one (or maybe even two) impactful starters, considering the defined sellers.
Sunday also offered another reminder of what might be prioritized, with Aroldis Chapman succumbing to back spasms. The Red Sox appear to be a late-inning arm short of feeling excellent about bobbing and weaving their way through close games. Can they get by? Maybe. But, particularly after Chapman's hiccup, it seems tenuous.
And then there is first base.
Since July 10, the combination of Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro is a combined 6-for-55, with two extra-base hits. Both players have been much more part of the solution than the problem throughout the season, with the need for versatility (Gonzalez at second base, and Toro backing up third) more prevalent than ever. But the Red Sox's offensive inconsistencies of late can't be ignored.
Would they dive into the Eugenio Suarez market? There might not be a more impactful acquisition if such a move were made for the Arizona All-Star. (And he did play first base for the first time over the weekend.) But the desperation by other teams might make such a move too costly. Might the Red Sox dip their toes back in the world of Nolan Arenado? Considering the veteran's struggles of late (a .430 OPS in July) it doesn't seem worth it. Rental Ryan O'Hearn? That should be intriguing, especially since he owns an .875 OPS vs. righty pitchers.
This we do know: More than most recent trade deadlines, the Red Sox's motivations should be clear, just as they were in the offseason. Now we wait to see if they can execute in a similarly effective fashion.