Status quo just won’t do
Sox must make move to keep up
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Time changes on that long flight to the West Coast. What used to be 10 o’clock becomes 7, and by the time the sun rises each morning, the rest of the country has a head start.
So, forgive the Red Sox if they woke up in California yesterday playing catch-up on the latest trade rumblings.
No forgiveness, though, if the Red Sox noticed the report about the Rangers actively gauging the market for starting pitcher Yu Darvish and didn’t take it as the latest evidence that something needs to be done.
Baseball’s trade deadline is 10 days away.
Tuesday’s Todd Frazier blockbuster was a shot across the bow.
And yesterday’s Yahoo Sports report on Darvish was a red flag reminder that there’s no safety in the status quo.
The Red Sox cannot assume that their current needs will be met from within, and they cannot assume that their current strengths will not be marginalized from the outside. There are available players who will make this team better, and the Red Sox need to get at least one of them, because the competition isn’t standing pat.
Darvish has no place on the Red Sox. Their rotation seems their greatest strength compared to other American League contenders, and the Sox have to use their few remaining trade chips to address greater needs.
But will their rotation still stand out if Darvish lands in Houston? What if pitcher Sonny Gray ends up in an Astros uniform, or a Yankees uniform, for that matter?
As it is, the Astros’ rotation is close enough to elite that Yahoo Sports noted: “their market is almost assuredly Darvish, Gray or bust.”
In other words, no sense fooling around with depth. If the Astros are going to make a move for a starting pitcher, it will be with top-ofthe-rotation talent in mind. And with five players ranked among Baseball America’s top 60 prospects, the Astros have the trade chips to make a splash.
They could also jump into the relief market to improve a bullpen that already has the most strikeouts in baseball with four relievers who carried a better-than-1.15 WHIP into last night’s games.
The Frazier trade to the Yankees was proof that the market does not wait for the Red Sox. No available third baseman better fit the Sox’ need for shortterm power, but the Yankees have a deeper farm system and offered a bigger deal with more money for a better prospect. It was a smart play on their part, and a good job by the White Sox to maximize their return.
But now the Sox are left to sort through other third base options, most of whom don’t hit the ball out of the ballpark. They’re also left to sort through a long list of relievers in a market of high supply and high demand. There might be an obvious way to go, but it’s getting time for the Red Sox to pick a direction.
If the rest of the American League would just sit still, the Sox could at least rest on the idea that their rotation should be their greatest advantage against the other contenders.
Houston’s Dallas Keuchel and Cleveland’s Corey Kluber are excellent, but in a battle of No. 1s, the Red Sox hold a Chris Sale-shaped trump card.
Lance McCullers and Carlos Carrasco would be aces on most other teams, but the same is true for David Price, who seems to be in peak form lately.
And while the Astros and Indians are banking on the continuing emergence of relatively unknown guys named Brad Peacock and Mike Clevinger as their No. 3 starters, the Red Sox get to choose between reigning Cy Young winner Rick Porcello and suddenly reliable Drew Pomeranz, who has the 10thbest ERA in the league.
It’s not that other teams have bad starters. Chris Archer and Alex Cobb are dangerous in Tampa Bay, as are Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka in New York, but the Red Sox stand above the rest.
Put Darvish or Gray in Houston, though, and suddenly the Astros would have the league’s most potent offense, its most strikeout heavy bullpen, and a set of top three starters that comes awfully close to the Red Sox’ trio, with Peacock providing an excellent fourth option.
There are other cross your-starting pitchers on the market, from overpriced Justin Verlander to resurgent Trevor Cahill, who could bolster the Yankees rotation, and there are outfield bats like Jay Bruce who wouldn’t fit the Red Sox but might improve the Indians’ lagging offense.
Other teams have opportunities to improve, which means the Red Sox can’t approach the deadline thinking only of the current landscape. They might be good enough to hang with anyone today, but if they don’t make a move, will they still be good enough 10 days from now?