According to ESPN's Jesse Rogers, it seems less likely than it did "10 days ago" that the Boston Red Sox will trade Aroldis Chapman or Sonny Gray ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline. He also speculated that the Red Sox are going to be buyers this year and will try to contend.
"About 10 days ago, I would have said Aroldis Chapman and/or Sonny Gray but that calculus has changed for the moment. The Red Sox were built to contend for the playoffs, and that's what they're finally doing. If they continue on this track, they won't be dealing players away," Rogers wrote.
The Red Sox were, at one point, 29-43, had the worst record in the American League, and were on pace for the second-worst season in franchise history. But now, fresh off the All-Star break, they are 46-48, on a nine-game winning streak, third in the AL East, and 0.5 games back of the third and final AL Wild Card spot.
For pretty much the first time all season, it looks like playoff baseball could be on the menu in Boston. And at this point, the front office should see this through and try to make some magic happen.
The Red Sox should try to compete this season
Are the Red Sox actually going to win the World Series this year? Probably not. But this team, all of a sudden, is fun, and they are riding some insane momentum. They have been the hottest team in baseball for about a month, even while just about half their team is injured.
At this point last month, I was firmly of the belief that Boston should sell at the deadline, trade Chapman, Gray, and maybe one or both of Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida, at the very least. It didn't make sense to keep these guys on a lowly team (especially in the case of Chapman and Gray, whose values are incredibly high), but things have changed. My opinion has changed.
The Red Sox are looking like the team a lot of fans expected them to be heading into the season, and interim manager Chad Tracy has a chance to make some history and maybe remove the "interim" tag once and for all. It didn't seem like it at first, but this team has something to it. And at this point, they should capitalize on that as much as they can and try to make a real playoff push.
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