Red Sox Trade Thoughts

 Back on Opening Day, this space predicted the Red Sox would be a championship contender.

In 2022!

The Red Sox decided to speed up that process by one year.  As the calendar turns to July Boston is 50-31, has a three-game lead in the A.L. East, and has the best overall record in the American League.

This is a great situation for Chaim Bloom to maximize the potential of the 2021 season while not stripping the minor league talent pool that he has worked hard to build up since being hired in October 2019.

Boston has a very good core of hitters.  No need to pay a ransom for a bat when the lineup already features Xander Bogaerts, JD Martinez, Rafael Devers, and Alex Verdugo.

The pitching staff has been solid as well.  Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, and Nick Pivetta have established themselves at the top of the rotation and the bullpen has been exceptional.  Chris Sale has started throwing and is expected back by August.  Tanner Houck is a power arm in Triple-A who looks ready to contribute, either as a starter or from the bullpen, this year.

Bloom just needs to fill in a few holes to strengthen the lineup and pitching depth for a deep run in October.

For the lineup, Boston needs improvement from the leadoff spot as well as a left handed hitting complement to Bobby Dalbec at first base.

Solutions to those problems are currently in the visitor's clubhouse at Fenway Park.  Whit Merrifield and Carlos Santana would be ideal additions to bolster the lineup without costing Bloom the price of premium prospects.  

Merrifield is hitting .287 with an on-base percentage (OBP) of .335, which would be a major improvement over the .230 average and .288 OBP the Red Sox are currently getting from that spot.  Merrifield is primarily plays second base but has the versatility to play the outfield, a trait that Bloom desires in his positional players.  His contract is also cheap, as he's owed just over $9-million total through the 2023 season.

Santana costs a little more (he's owed $10.5-million in 2022) but still provides plenty of power.  He currently has 13 home runs and 46 RBI.  That kind of production after the middle of the lineup would be a nice bonus for Alex Cora when he makes out the lineup card every day.

Even with Sale on the verge of returning and Houck a possible addition, Bloom also needs to find a starting pitcher.  Two realistic options are Kyle Gibson of the Rangers and Jon Gray of the Rockies.

Gibson is currently 6-0 with a 2.00 ERA, and is under contract for 2022 at $7-million.  Gray is 5-6 with a 3.89 ERA and is a free agent after this season.  Either would seem to be an upgrade over Martin Perez and Garrett Richards at the end of the Red Sox starting rotation.

Adding complementary pieces for the lineup and rotation does not need to cost the Red Sox their top level prospects but Bloom needs to be willing to deal quality prospects to give this team a chance to make a run at the World Series.  Coming off the stink of the 2020 season, Bloom is armed with top of the round draft picks in next weekend's annual draft so any prospects dealt to improve the 2021 Red Sox can be replenished in this draft.