Ken Rosenthal expects Red Sox to buy at trade deadline

The Red Sox have been on a roll over the last few weeks. 

Following Monday’s walk-off win over the Blue Jays, Boston has now won 10 of its last 12 games and currently sits in a Wild Card spot in the American League.

At 43-36, the Red Sox have exceeded expectations so far in 2024, accelerating their timeline as a potential playoff team despite not spending heavily during the offseason.  

With the Red Sox consistently stringing together wins as of late and MLB’s July 30 trade deadline just five weeks away, the writing is seemingly on the wall for Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow to add to this team before a potential offseason push.

But after Boston failed to follow through on its promise of a “full throttle” offseason, will the Red Sox reverse course and invest in this current roster by way of a few mid-season additions?

In his latest appearance on Foul Territory, longtime MLB insider Ken Rosenthal admitted he expects Boston to be active at the deadline — but stressed that the onus falls on ownership to signal to Breslow that the team is ready to be buyers. 

“From last offseason, starting then, they have been a team that seemingly does not want to try, right? We’re kind of just playing for the future, blah, blah, blah, blah,” Rosenthal said of Boston’s approach the last few seasons. “Well, guess what? Your team is actually better than you thought it was going to be. It’s better than you deserve it to be. And I’m talking about their ownership right now. 

“So at this stage — as well as they’re playing, and as interesting as they are — I would expect that they will buy and that they will maybe do two things at once. They can trade some of their potential free agents, perhaps, and bring in other players. That’s not out of the question for them.”

The Red Sox are not strangers to toeing the line between being a buyer or seller at the deadline. In 2022, Boston dealt veteran Christian Vazquez to the Astros, but also acquired Reese McGuire, Tommy Pham, and Eric Hosmer.

Even if Boston opts to move a pending free agent like Kenley Jansen before July 30, they could be on the prowl for another starting pitcher or lineup regular if the price is right. 

But even if the Red Sox opt to move on from a few players, Rosenthal harped on the rough optics if Boston chooses to not invest in this overachieving team.

“When you play like this, and you got Alex Cora in the last year of his contract — you’re obligated, in my opinion, to make an effort here,” Rosenthal said. “The thing is, they haven’t shown that they’ve wanted to make an effort, ownership that is, since last offseason. So they’re a team to watch in my opinion.

“Because if they don’t honor what their players and their manager and coaching staff have done here, and I’m talking again, they [as in] ownership. If they don’t do that? Well, then shame on them.”