The Boston Red Sox haven’t really picked up any steam since firing manager Alex Cora and replacing him with Chad Tracy. They are still 23-31 and sit at the bottom of the American League East. Because the American League as a whole is so weak, they still are just three games out in the wild card race, so there is still some hope.
The team could look to make some improvements at the trade deadline if they are truly in the mix. Jim Bowden of The Athletic even listed each team in Major League Baseball’s case to trade for Tarik Skubal.
However, Bowden poured cold water on the idea of Boston doing it, and stated that there are other areas of the roster that need much more attention than their starting rotation.
“The Red Sox are searching for a right-handed middle of the order impact bat. They’re happy with their starting rotation and I’m not sure they’re good enough to trade for a rental at this point,” Bowden wrote.
Red Sox Have More Pressing Needs Than Tarik Skubal
The Red Sox already have some solid starting pitchers, including Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez, Brayan Bello, Payton Tolle and Connelly Early. In addition, left-hander and All-Star Garrett Crochet is slowly but surely making his way back from an injury and will soon give the starting rotation a big boost.
The problem for Boston has been its offense. They have scored just 208 runs this season, which is the fewest in the American League. If they’re going to pull themselves out of their rut, they need more offense, and they would be best served buying a middle-of-the-order bat to replace Alex Bregman.
Bregman left for the Chicago Cubs in free agency, and that left a hole in Boston’s lineup. The additions that they did make ultimately aren’t enough to fill that void, so Boston is going to have to get creative in how it goes about adding pieces to its roster.
But this would seemingly take them right out of the running for a pitcher like Skubal. With Crochet approaching a return, the Red Sox do not need another starting pitcher. They have enough depth in that area, so it’s best to focus elsewhere.
If they do that, there is still a chance that they could come out of their rut and get back into the mix for at least a wild card spot this year.
Boston May Accomplish Neither
There is a world in which the Red Sox not only do not acquire Skubal from Detroit, but also don’t add a bat to the mix. They may realize that this team is simply not a contender and ultimately chose to focus on selling rather than buying.
If they cannot get anywhere close to .500 anytime soon, selling would seem to be the most likely and best possible path forward. The front office may finally see that they didn’t do enough to make this team a true contender, so the best path could be bringing in future assets.
Red Sox Deemed Likely to Pass on Tarik Skubal In Favor of Other Upgrades