What moves will the Boston Red Sox make before the MLB trade deadline ends on Aug. 2?

There are no two ways about it. The Red Sox are having a terrible season. One game over .500 and 17.0 game adrift in the AL East, you might be tempted to make excuses: “the Yankees are having a record-breaking season, you can’t compare the two” or “the Jays and Rays are always solid teams, even when they struggle they are still tough”.

But all excuses stop dead when you consider that the Orioles, who everyone outside of Baltimore will agree are just diabolically awful, are just half a game behind the Sox.

Half a game.

And therein lies the rub. The AL East is the most competitive conference, true. Were they in the AL Central, for example, the Red Sox would be in second place, above both the Guardians and White Sox. And then again, if a frog had wings…

Putting all of those arguments to one side, the skid that Boston finds themselves in is bordering on inexcusable. The Orioles can point at their payroll being the lowest in baseball and take solace that they are a .500 team. The Red Sox, on the other hand, have a payroll at $172,650,000 which, yes, is $60 million less than the Yankees, but it is still $42 million over the league average.

So here we are. Boston have to make a choice. Do they sell some of their players and go all in on a single big playmaker, or do they find that extra cash to buy more depth? Whatever they do, they have less than a week to decide.

Buying

If they become buyers, there is no roster spot more in need of a blood transfusion than first base. Things didn’t work out with Kyle Schwarber there and now Franchy Cordero and Bobby Dalbec are a kind of tag-team downgrade. Switch-hitting Josh Bell might be made available by the Nationals, and would be a good fit as a first baseman by trade who can hit over .300 with power from both sides of the plate.

Another area that they should look to invest in is their pitching rotation. Surrendering 453 runs, seventh most in MLB, they are being hit all over the park. Luis Castillo would be a dream for the rotation, but they would have to dig deep to find that kind of money, given the interest that he is generating by just about every team in baseball.

More realistic, if short term, targets for the Sox could be Tyler Mahle from the Reds or Martin Perez from the Rangers, although in the latter’s case, it would mean adding another southpaw to a rotation already overloaded with port-siders. But with a 2.59 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP, Perez has a way of grinding out wins, making for a great addition to a rotation that could use just that.

Mahle is a different prospect, serving up a 4.48 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, he has been plagued by injury this year, which has lowered his asking price, but last season he was as solid a starter as any in the league, which could make for an interesting longer-term investment.

Selling

On the other end of the wheeler-dealer negotiations, the Red Sox have some serious options open to them as sellers. With the left side of the infield up for free agency, they could unload both Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers for a truckload of money. There are viable options all around the league to replace these two that would make trades palatable, particularly for selling Bogaerts.

The interest in outfielder JD Martinez could mean that he finds himself dealt away, possibly to the Mets, who would jump at the chance to use him in the DH spot. He is slashing .302/.368/.481 with nine home runs, 38 RBI and 30 doubles this season, despite suffering from some health issues.

With Nathan Eovaldi coming up for free agency after the season, the Sox could be looking to unload that rarest of breeds in the Red Sox bullpen: a right handed pitcher with good movement.

As bad as this season has been, the Red Sox are still the Red Sox, and there aren’t many players who would pass up the chance to play for one of MLB’s true heavyweight teams. They have options available to them and the next week will let us know where their true intentions are.