4 Realistic Red Sox Trade Deadline Targets

Heading into the season, expectations were low for the 2024 Boston Red Sox (to put it mildly). This edition of the Red Sox was projected to be a rebuilding bridge team given a modest offseason. The expectations were only further sapped by early-season injuries to key pieces Lucas Giolito and Trevor Story.

Well, despite the adversity, Boston has found themselves coming out of the All-Star break in a playoff spot and within shouting distance of the American League East lead. The Red Sox' playoff odds currently sit at 53 percent, per FanGraphs. FanGraphs also has the Sox's second-half schedule ranked as the hardest in all of baseball, which would suggest that reinforcements are necessary for Boston to secure October baseball.

The Red Sox' post-All-Star break falterings over the past few seasons should make it clear to the front office that the team needs to add at the deadline, set for July 30 at 6 p.m. ET.

Manager Alex Cora has been crystal clear about what he wants Craig Breslow to do at the deadline, prodding the front office to "get greedy" and encouraging "Let's not settle for the third Wild Card. Let's go higher and see where the season takes us." Admittedly, with Cora's future in Boston uncertain (his contract expires after this season), he has little investment in the long game that Breslow is likely mapping out.

Cora was also critical of the last two trade deadlines under Chaim Bloom, where Boston showed zero urgency in chasing a playoff spot. Reflecting on the past two deadlines, Cora said "Honestly, we didn't get better. We just stayed the same and the teams around us got better." For Cora and Sox fans, the fear is that the deadline will play out the same way in 2024.

Breslow, conducting his first trade deadline as the head of a baseball operations department, has been diplomatic in questions about the team's intentions at the deadline and has yet to fully reveal their game plan. However, he has hinted at adding during a recent appearance on NESN:

"But, yeah, I think this team has put themselves in a position where we have to take them seriously, right? The job that they had to do is to win as many games as possible and they’re doing that. They’ll continue to do that — it’s my hope, it’s my expectation. We need to be thinking about opportunities for us to improve the club."

- Craig Breslow

Is this just lip service from Breslow, keenly aware of the sentiment from Red Sox fans after the disappointment of the last two deadlines and the backlash that would follow should the front office elect to stand pat again? Only time will tell.

If Boston does choose to add at the deadline (which they should), here are four realistic trade candidates that Breslow and Co. should be looking at to make a strong playoff push.