Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has made it clear that he doesn’t like the “buyer” or “seller” labels, saying on NESN last week that, “It’s useful shorthand, but internally we hate thinking that way.”
That’s perfectly fine to say in the days and weeks leading up to the trade deadline. Whether it’s to avoid tipping your hand to potential trade partners or because you legitimately want to take as much time as possible before deciding on a direction, Bloom is well within his rights to avoid publicly declaring what the Red Sox are going to do before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. deadline.
At some point, though, you do actually have to pick a direction. And that time is now. Either Boston is trying to win this season and Bloom is a buyer, or he’s turning the page to next season and beyond and selling.
Who will the Red Sox trade away?
Based on the reports we’re seeing, however, it looks like there’s a chance that Bloom could choose a middle path where he sells off some pieces, keeps others, and also tries to add Major League pieces that could still keep the Red Sox in the playoff race.
Audacy MLB Insider Jon Heyman reported over the weekend that the Red Sox are “now listening on veterans” like J.D. Martinez, Christian Vazquez and Nathan Eovaldi, all of whom are free agents after the season.
OK, so they’re selling, right? Well… The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported Sunday night that while the Red Sox are indeed listening on those players, they are unlikely to be “pure sellers,” “will be reluctant to concede” the season, and are “seeking major leaguers in return for rentals.”
Huh? Maybe Bloom has some sort of magic trick up his sleeve, but it’s hard to see how such a path would benefit the Red Sox in the short term or long term.
If you’re trading Martinez, Vazquez and/or Eovaldi, you’re not getting better for the rest of this season, unless you’re turning around and then making a blockbuster deal for one of the truly big fish like Juan Soto or Shohei Ohtani, which seems extremely, extremely unlikely.
While Martinez’s power numbers are down this season, he has still been the Red Sox’s third-best hitter behind only Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts. If the 34-year-old free agent-to-be gets traded, it’s going to be to a contender, which means a team that is not going to give Boston an equal or better major league player. There is no scenario where the Red Sox trade Martinez without their offense getting worse. And if their offense gets worse, they’re not trying to win this season.
The same goes for Vazquez and Eovaldi. Vazquez is one of the better offensive catchers in baseball. Kevin Plawecki, his backup and replacement if Vazquez is dealt, has an OPS over 200 points lower. Trading Vazquez makes you a worse team, period. Eovaldi has struggled since returning from injury a couple weeks ago, so maybe he’s more expendable. But still, the Red Sox need more starting pitching, not less, and no contender is going to give them a better starter in return.
Bloom can spin it however he wants, but make no mistake: Trading those players, especially Martinez, makes the Red Sox a seller. The goal, then, should be to get players who can help the Red Sox be better in the years to come, regardless of whether they’re currently major leaguers.
According to one report, the Red Sox are interested in 22-year-old Mets third base prospect Mark Vientos. That would make sense. Vientos is one of the Mets’ top five prospects and he’s having a strong Triple-A season, suggesting he’s fairly close to big league-ready. There’s a little more certainty with a prospect that far along in his development than a similarly rated but younger prospect.
That would be an actual seller’s move, one that clearly looks to the future more than the present. If Bloom chooses that path, then fine. Even though the Red Sox are “only” 3.5 games out of the third and final Wild Card spot, their 8-19 record in July gives Bloom more than enough reason to sell.
Why, then, are we still hearing about getting major leaguers in return and trying to make the playoffs? And why, then, is Xander Bogaerts -- also a pending free agent -- off limits, unless the Red Sox intend to finally make a serious offer to extend him?
If making the playoffs -- and, presumably, winning games in said playoffs -- were actually the goal, then Bloom wouldn’t be listening on Martinez, Vazquez and Eovaldi. He’d be keeping them all and looking to add pieces that would help the Sox get back on track. He would be a buyer. You can certainly make an argument for choosing that path as well, with last year’s Braves there to back you up. They were also under .500 at this point, but added at the deadline anyways and went on to win the World Series.
The one path that doesn’t seem viable at all is this middle path, where Bloom somehow tries to sell and buy at the same time. It’s time to pick an actual direction.
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