The Boston Red Sox are hovering on the edge of falling out of playoff contention, which few would have foreseen this early in the season after last year’s relatively successful campaign.
It’s easy to watch this Red Sox team on a nightly basis and diagnose its shortcomings. This offense has been worse than even the most pessimistic of preseason projections, with key positions like shortstop and third base proving to be black holes in the everyday lineup.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow doesn’t want to sell at the trade deadline, because he knows his job might evaporate if the Red Sox miss the postseason. The instinct is going to be buying if there’s any offensive upgrade to be had, and these three players represent that hopeful possibility.
Ketel Marte - Arizona Diamondbacks 2B
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported on Sunday that the Diamondbacks were frustrated with some of Marte’s antics, which sparked a new round of trade rumors despite Arizona’s choice to pass on moving him in the offseason. Marte gained a full no-trade clause early in the regular season by virtue of hitting 10 years of service time, so a move to the Red Sox would require his sign-off.
While that might be a non-starter, the Red Sox have to at least check in on Marte, who came into the season as the consensus No. 1 second baseman in the sport, has a bunch of clutch moments in the past month (i.e. two walk-off home runs), and would greatly improve Boston’s lineup balance thanks to his switch-hitting ability.
Byron Buxton - Minnesota Twins CF
Another guy with a no-trade clause who might look at this Boston team and say “No thank you.” But Buxton’s Twins effectively rug-pulled him at the trade deadline last year, so there’s at least a decent chance that he’ll reverse his prior stance on not wanting to be traded.
Of course, the Red Sox also have one of the few center fielders who can run down balls in the alley better than Buxton, and it’s unlikely the veteran All-Star wants to play left field or serve as the full-time designated hitter. But if they can overcome all his possible objections about coming to town, he’d be an incredible get for a lineup that desperately needs more thump from the right side of the plate.
Isaac Paredes - Houston Astros 3B
There was a two-week stretch in January where it seemed more likely than not that Paredes would wind up on the Red Sox. The Astros seemed insistent that Boston would have to give up either Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu to make it happen, though, and that led both teams back to the trade rumor circus only a few months later.
While Paredes isn’t the most exciting bat, and arguably not a season-saver, he’s right-handed and isn’t on a bad contract. He’d be under control for next season as well, and might even be flippable again in the offseason if the Red Sox thought he could net them better assets than they might give up in this hypothetical.