On July 30, the day of the MLB trade deadline, the Red Sox sported a 63-42 record and held first place in the A.L. East.
At the trade deadline Chaim Bloom made the decision to hold on to his top prospects, making a deal for Nationals slugger Kyle Schwarber (who has yet to play a game with the Red Sox as he struggles with hamstring and groin issues) and two smaller deals for relief pitchers Hansel Robles and Austin Davis.
Schwarber, an outfielder with Washington, is expected to transition to first base when he returns, should bolster a struggling lineup. Robles has a 13.5 ERA in four Boston appearances while Davis has a 4.15 ERA in four Boston appearances.
Bloom is also treating the return of Chris Sale as a deadline addition.
Meanwhile, Boston's American League rivals all got significantly better. Tampa Bay made a move for Nelson Cruz. The Yankees added Anthony Rizzo (a rumored Red Sox target) and Joey Gallo. Toronto picked up Jose Berrios, Joakim Soria, and Brad Hand. Houston dealt for Kendall Graveman and Yimi Garcia. The White Sox grabbed Craig Kimbrel. Oakland made a swap for Sterling Marte. Several National League contenders, most notably the Dodgers, made moves to improve as well.
As I type on the morning of August 11, just twelve days after the deadline, the Red Sox are 65-50 and trail Tampa by 5 games in the division and hold a slim 2 game lead over the Yankees for the second Wild Card spot.
Bloom has been the target of media scorn in Boston but considering he was brought here to build a long term winner, I think his conservative approach to the deadline was to be expected. Big name additions like Kris Bryant or Max Scherzer would not have guaranteed Boston a World Series. Was the risk of adding them, with no guarantees of success, worth dealing away all of the team's top prospects?
Boston's lineup and pitching needs to start performing better and hope Sale and Schwarber will be enough to fix their current issues. They are still in position to compete for the A.L. East or at least get a Wild Card berth in the playoffs. After a disastrous 2020 season, that is a significant improvement. And by not overplaying their hand at this deadline, Bloom enters the offseason with financial flexibility and prospects to deal to build a contender in 2022.
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Brad Stevens first few months running Basketball Operations for the Celtics seem to have been a success.
He dumped the Kemba Walker contract on the Thunder (with Boston's first round pick added to sweeten the deal for Oklahoma City) while adding Al Horford. He drafted a promising "draft and stash" prospect, 19-year-old Juhann Begarin from France. He dumped Tristan Thompson's contract while adding veteran point guard Kris Dunn and then dealt for Josh Richardson. Veteran forward Enes Kanter was signed to a veteran minimum contract. And yesterday he signed point guard Dennis Schroder.
Boston's new coach Ime Udoka now has Marcus Smart, Schroder, Payton Pritchard, Dunn, and Carsen Edwards as ball handlers. On the wing there is Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Richardson, Aaron Nesmith, and Grant Williams. The forwards are Horford, Robert Williams, Kanter, Bruno Fernando, and Jabari Parker.
Stevens is also not likely finished tinkering. Dunn has been rumored to be moved even as he was being added in the Thompson trade. Edwards has been showcased to a small extent in the Las Vegas summer league, possibly for a team looking for a guard who can score off the bench. Parker's contract for next season is not guaranteed. Grant Williams also could be a candidate to be moved, although his positional flexibility as a wing and a forward might help him stick.
Udoka's likely rotation players for this season will be Tatum, Brown, Smart, Horford, Schroder, Robert Williams, Nesmith, Richardson, and Pritchard with Langford, Grant Williams, Kanter, and Fernando fighting for a rotation spot.
That is not only an upgrade on what they had last year, but Stevens also maintained the financial flexibility he needs to have the Celtics in position to add a third superstar - either through free agency or a trade - next summer. Tatum and Brown are going to need a third star added to the mix to compete for championships or they may be looking to move on from Boston in a few years themselves.
Stevens improving the team for this year and putting the team in position to significantly get better the following year is promising in his first shot at building the roster.
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Sticking with the Celtics, I'm ready to buy stock in Nesmith.
I was bullish on the Vanderbilt wing when Boston drafted him in 2020 and even through an up-and-down rookie season, I saw enough to be confident in his future. Known for his shooting in college, Nesmith also flashed athleticism and hustle that should translate to him being a significant contributor as early as this upcoming season.
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The Bruins decision to give Linus Ullmark a 4-year $20-million contract to play goalie, along with promising young netminder Jeremy Swayman, is a signal that long time goalie Tuukka Rask may have played his last game in the black and gold.
Rask, who had hip surgery after the end of the 2021 season that it likely to sideline him until early 2022, was often criticized during his tenure for not winning a Stanley Cup despite getting the team to the Cup Finals in 2013 and 2019 and being the franchise's all-time wins leader in net.
I am curious how the team's core of stars feels about the likelihood of Rask being done in Boston. Charlie McAvoy, their top defensemen, for one is a year away from free agency. If he's upset with the goaltending decisions, it could be difficult to re-sign him after this season.
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Enjoy Nathan Eovaldi tonight.
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