The Boston Red Sox have seen what was once a solid season turn into a hot garbage in a matter of weeks. Once a strong candidate to finish as the divisional runner-up behind the top-seeded New York Yankees, they've since spiraled into a complete mess that reached a crescendo when the Blue Jays laid a historic smack down on them that looked more like a football score than something possible on the baseball field.
Boston is now just one game over .500 after being 10 games over just earlier this month. While they're still a stone's throw away from a Wild Card spot, their play of late doesn't inspire much confidence that they're likely to leapfrog the teams ahead of them – or make any noise even if they do. According to ESPN insider Jeff Passan, their current predicament may be what prompts the team to reportedly look to sell with the MLB trade deadline looming:
Amid the injury-pocked collapse and Boston's descent toward the bottom of the AL East, the possibility of the Red Sox becoming sellers has become increasingly realistic, sources said.
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The possibility has been percolating recently, and one person with the Red Sox, when asked during the All-Star break about whether dumping is an option, said, “Let's see how we do against Toronto, Cleveland and Milwaukee.” Well, the Blue Jays swept the Red Sox in the first series, outscoring them 40-10. If the Guardians do a similar woodshed job, opposing executives expect Bloom to be open for business.
The Red Sox have several desirable names to teams looking to shore up their lineup. Chief among them is Xander Bogaerts, who most expect to be shielded from any trade talks. But teams will likely still inquire once the team starts selling some of its win-now pieces.
Bogaerts aside, there are severe more movable pieces such as J.D. Martinez, whose once again put together an All-Star season, and Kike Hernandez, a super utility player who has a lengthy postseason resume and legitimate World Series experience to boot.
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