It was 18 years ago today. The Red Sox had a problem and they made a move.
The problem was a combination of Shea Hillenbrand being a poor fit and a need for pitching, whether in the rotation or bullpen. The answer was trading for Byung-Hyun Kim.
That was on May 29, 2003.
It was certainly not the norm, but it should offer a pretty important reminder. Teams like the Red Sox shouldn't be beholden to the July 31 deadline cliff, particularly when you're in the kind of four-team race this team seems to be staring down at the rest of the way.
On that day Theo Epstein made his move, the Red Sox were 31-21, carrying a 1/2 game lead over the Yankees and 3 1/2-game advantage over Toronto.
As we sit here, after the Red Sox' rain-shortened, 2-hour, 7-minute win over the Marlins Friday night, Alex Cora's club is at 31-20, which is 1/2 game in back of Tampa Bay and two games in front of the third-place Yankees.
This isn't to say that this edition of the Red Sox currently has the kind of glaring need that paved the way for the Kim deal. They aren't glaringly bad in any facet of the game, although the bridge to closer Matt Barnes can oftentimes be uncomfortable.
And another bonus Chaim Bloom has going is there seems to be alternative options almost at his disposal. Jarren Duran. Ryan Brasier. Chris Sale.
But this will still be about staying one step ahead of the Rays, Jays, and Yanks. If a player like Pittsburgh reliever Richard Rodriguez is clearly available - (yes, that is a player we will keep bringing up in these trade target pieces) - make the move. Bloom did it with reliever Nick Anderson in Tampa and made all the difference when it counted the most.
The good news is that Bloom has already shown an awareness of this outside-the-box way of approaching the deadline. Last year, 10 days before the trade deadline, he made the move for Nick Pivetta. This is what the Red Chief Baseball Officer said when asked why he pulled the trigger so early:
“The timing of trades is not always something that you can foresee. Philly came hard after these two pitchers. They really wanted to complete something and any time you have a situation where you’ve got some time before the trade deadline, you’re not just looking at the trade in a vacuum, you’re also trying to think about what are the options that you can have between now and the deadline, and obviously that’s something we have to weigh, but we felt that this return was a really good fit for us, that we got two pitchers that not only fit an area of need, but are also pitchers we like that can be part of this thing for many years. I thought that was worth doing right now.”
What he didn't mention was Tampa Bay was also hot on the heels of Pivetta. Once again, timing was everything.
It's hard to imagine that the Red Sox are going to dramatically alter their roster in the coming weeks. They are playing too well, have possess too many back-up plans.
The point is that in this kind of pennant race, it wouldn't behoove the Red Sox to simply circle July 31 on the calendar. Steve Pearce (June 28). Brad Ziegler (July 9). And, of course, Byung-Hyun Kim (May 29).
Just a few reminders.