As has been the case for most of this decade, 2024 is off to a tumultuous start for the Boston Red Sox. They're leading the league in errors, have had 60% of their roster on the injured list at some point already and yet… they're doing pretty well? The pitching staff is the best in the league so far? Well, that's not what we expected.

The Red Sox deserve a ton of credit for hanging in there as well as they have, but things could also easily go south at any time. Andrew Bailey has done a tremendous job with the pitching staff, but regression looms while injuries mount. Meanwhile, the bottom half of the lineup is a black hole nearly every day, with rookies and castoffs struggling to fill full-time roles.

Fortunately, we are not subject to the same budget restrictions as Red Sox general manager Craig Breslow, so we can concoct some trades that would shore up all the concerns with this Boston roster and turn the Sox into a surefire contender. With a talent-rich farm system and new pitching development program, the future looks bright at Fenway Park, but we can turn this into a win-now team with just a few simple moves.

Acquire Marlins LHP Tanner Scott

Hand up, I personally have been sending Tanner Scott to every team in baseball in columns like these this season. He makes sense for a lot of teams and the Miami Marlins are going to have no shortage of suiters for their current closer after already dealing Luis Arraez on Friday. But the Red Sox desperately need him and he's only making $5.7 million this year before his impending 2025 free agency.

Boston has one reliable lefty reliever, they've got injury concerns with setup man Chris Martin and they've got the fifth-worst save percentage in MLB as a team. If Scott became the new eighth inning man or even took over the closer role in the case of Kenley Jansen losing effectiveness, the Sox would have a significantly better outlook at the end of games.

And because Scott is a rental and the Marlins are clearly open for business, it's not going to take a king's ransom to get him to Boston. 20-year-old outfield prospect Allan Castro and right-handed pitcher Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz would be the type of return one might expect in a deal that sends Scott to a new home with the Red Sox.

Acquire Athletics RHP Paul Blackburn

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Paul Blackburn (58) throws a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

The Red Sox starting pitching has been a stunning success all season long. They have two former relievers in Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck pitching like Cy Young candidates, Cooper Criswell has come up from AAA and dominated and three others (Nick Pivetta, Brayan Bello and Garrett Whitlock) have been great, but are now injured.

The rotation depth already looked thin when the season started, from the moment free agent acquisition Lucas Giolito was declared done for the year before he even threw a pitch. The Red Sox simply cannot afford to have another season derailed because they're forced to throw bullpen games twice a week like they did for most of last year's second half. Enter the Oakland Athletics' Paul Blackburn.

Blackburn is the dream trade candidate for both sides because he has a year and a half of team control remaining. As fun as it is to see the A's winning, it's obvious they aren't expecting to be in serious contention anytime soon with the league's lowest payroll. The Red Sox could send their No. 6 prospect Nick Yorke to the A's, with perhaps another lower-end prospect if the asking price is higher, and help Oakland jump-start their rebuild while drastically improving their own odds at a playoff berth.

Trade either 1B Dominic Smith or Garrett Cooper

At some point, Triston Casas is going to be back and ready to take over first base duties. He's on the 60-day IL, so it won't be likely until around the All-Star break, but between now and the trade deadline, it should be the goal for the Red Sox to get something of value from either of the two first basemen they've acquired to fill the void Casas has left behind.

So far, not so good. Garrett Cooper is 1-for-13, while Dominic Smith is 4-for-16 with his only double being a lazy fly ball Manuel Margot lost in the Minnesota sun. The Red Sox have spent all year watching Bobby Dalbec fail to hit at one of the most important offensive positions in the game and now, they're watching two new guys do mostly the same. They need Smith or Cooper to hit now to help them win games, but they also need that so that they can get something back for one when their services are no longer required.

There are certain to be teams at the fringes of playoff contention this year hoping for first base bats to platoon. Just ask the 2023 San Diego Padres, who traded for none other than Garrett Cooper at the deadline when they were still under .500 on the year. The Red Sox would love to have a poker chip like that to cash when Casas returns to render both Cooper and Smith obsolete, so it's up to the hitting coaches in the building to fix one or both of them up in the near future.