The Red Sox told us whether they were buyers or sellers
BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox came through with a gutty, inspired win on Monday night in Houston. It was impressive, and unlike much of what the Red Sox have put forth over the past month, it was captivating and entertaining.
Unfortunately for baseball fans in Boston, it was likely a short-term burst of inspiration. Based on the moves from Chaim Bloom on Monday, it would be unwise to expect too many nights like Monday in the short-term future of the Red Sox.
Technically, the Red Sox lost two big league players and added two big league players on Monday. But the exchanges were hardly equal.
Boston sent catcher Christian Vazquez to Houston (bungling the process by leaving Vazquez on the field in the middle of a media swarm) and traded reliever Jake Diekman to the White Sox. They added catcher Reese McGuire and outfielder Tommy Pham.
While the Red Sox filled two apparent needs on paper, the players used to fill those needs says everting about this team's goals heading into Tuesday evening's trade deadline.
McGuire has the sixth-lowest OPS (.546) in the major leagues among catchers with at least 150 at-bats this season. He can catch, yes, but he'll be close to an automatic out whenever he's in the Red Sox' lineup.
The 34-year-old Pham has a .694 OPS this season, the 12th-lowest OPS among qualified outfielders in MLB at .694. Unfortunately for Boston, that does represent a minor upgrade over Jackie Bradley Jr. (.578) and Alex Verdugo (.683) in that department. Even Kiké Hernandez, when healthy, had just a .613 OPS this season.
Monday's moves clearly weren't about moving the needle with regard to the Red Sox' "effort" to make the postseason this year, which Bloom continues to state as a goal of the team. The deals were more about trying to get something -- in this case, a couple of lower-tiered prospects from Houston -- for a player whose deal is up. Diekman -- the 35-year-old with his 4.23 ERA and 1.487 WHIP -- is no great loss, and his departure helped secure a body to work behind the plate for the next couple of months.
Bloom said Monday night that he doesn't "have a crystal ball" and thus can't predict exactly what the team will do before the 6 p.m. deadline. But the deals made on Monday certainly provided a basis for expectations on what's to come on Tuesday. The Red Sox now sit at 52-52, three games out of a wild-card spot. They may want to make the postseason this year, but when it comes to expending resources to make it happen, the front office doesn't appear to be particularly invested.