Boston Red Sox
“I talked to someone with another team that told me that it’s to the degree that the Red Sox ownership has gotten involved.”
Craig Breslow and Sam Kennedy haven’t waved the white flag on this Red Sox season. AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough
Despite their sub-.500 record, the Red Sox have yet to wave the white flag so far this season
Not only has a 27-38 Boston club reportedly not entertained trading players off its roster to this point, the Red Sox also have not considered firing chief baseball officer Craig Breslow amid middling returns.
Instead, longtime ESPN insider Buster Olney stressed over the last week that Breslow and his staff are interested in adding to a Red Sox roster that is in desperate need of a proven, right-handed bat to bring some spark to what’s been a woeful offensive output to this point in the season.
Speaking on WEEI Monday, Olney said the desire to pull off a trade to bolster Boston’s listless lineup isn’t just a measure spearheaded by Breslow.
Rather, Olney reported that other members of Boston’s ownership group have been active in making calls for big-league reinforcements.
“Today, I talked to someone with another team that told me that it’s to the degree that the Red Sox ownership has gotten involved,” Olney said on WEEI’s “Rich and Ken with Ted Johnson” on Monday.
“I have not confirmed the name of the owner, so I’m not gonna mention the name that I heard. … But an owner, one of the Red Sox ownership group, is actually calling around and trying to grease the skids to something to add a right-handed bat.”
After failing to land several free-agent targets like Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, and Eugenio Suárez — and letting Alex Bregman walk in free agency — the Red Sox are now paying the price for not adding another impact bat in their lineup alongside Willson Contreras.
Entering Tuesday’s game against the Rays, the Red Sox rank last in baseball in home runs (49), 29th in runs scored (250), 26th in slugging percentage (.375), and 25th in OPS.
Olney’s recent comments fall in line with comments he’s made previously about the Red Sox’ desire to add another impact bat before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
“What I’ve heard today is, it’s not just that they are looking for a right-handed hitter, they are aggressively looking for a right-handed hitter and signaling to the industry, ‘Look, we’re willing to take on money. We’re willing to pay a lot of money.” Olney said on “Just Baseball Media” last week. “Which, of course, raises the question, why didn’t you just pay Alex Bregman and pay the extra money?
“But the way this is being interpreted in other organizations is: Man, there’s some desperation setting in there in Boston because of this ugly start, how poorly they’re playing at home, winning a third of their games, struggling offensively and understanding they have an imbalance in their lineup.”
The Red Sox dealt away a disgruntled Rafael Devers last June and managed to remove his entire contract from their books in that surprising trade with the Giants. Now, Olney acknowledged that Boston might be willing to take on a hefty contract in hopes that another power bat could alleviate some of the club’s season-long woes.
“What the Red Sox are saying is we really want to get a right-handed hitter, and we’re willing to pay big dollars for them,” Olney added. “And remember last year, Craig Breslow was able to pull off that Devers trade relatively early in the season. Maybe he can do something, and it might be a case where the Red Sox are willing to take on a bad contract in order to get a good right-handed hitter.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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