Sox Talk with Will Middlebrooks is a recurring content series on NESN.com. Middlebrooks, a former Red Sox player and current NESN analyst, gives his insight and opinion on pertinent Red Sox storylines throughout the season. You can read the latest stories from the series here.
Craig Breslow’s first trade deadline as Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer could be a busy one.
The Red Sox are right in the middle of a tight playoff race in the American League but are in need of a few pieces to get over the top and make sure they secure a ticket to the postseason.
If Will Middlebrooks was in Breslow’s shoes — the two were teammates when Boston won the 2013 World Series — the former Red Sox third baseman knows exactly what areas he would target heading into next Tuesday’s trade deadline.
“I would love a starting pitcher — I would love two pitchers in a perfect world,” Middlebrooks told NESN.com. “But, you don’t want to drain your system. You don’t want to go all in on a rental of a guy who isn’t going to be here next year. I would love a back-end bullpen arm and I would love a right-handed bat.”
Obtaining all of that would be a mighty task for Breslow, especially with Middlebrooks wanting the Red Sox to acquire players with term left on their contracts.
That might be a tough assignment for Breslow given the compensation trade partners will want for those type of players, but Middlebrooks believes it is a realistic ask.
“It’s doable and I think there’s different ways to go about it,” Middlebrooks said.
One of those ways wouldn’t require much on the part of the Red Sox. The Seattle Mariners reportedly put Ty France on outright waivers Sunday and MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported Tuesday the first baseman cleared waivers. France was officially designated for assignment by the Mariners on Tuesday.
France was an All-Star two seasons ago but struggled this season. The 29-year-old hit .223 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs in 88 games with the Mariners.
Middlebrooks sees a fit for France with the Red Sox. France could fill in at the corner infield spot with it unknown when Triston Casas will return and serve as an option against left-handed pitching to spell Dominic Smith.
“He’s had a down year. He hasn’t hit lefties like he normally does. I think he’s just hitting .240 against lefties,” Middlebrooks said. “But in that same breath, why not take a flyer there? Try it. It it doesn’t work for a couple weeks you get rid of him. It’s not costing you a lot of money. So, I say take a chance. He’s got a pretty good OPS at Fenway in his career.”
It would a minor move for the Red Sox, but one of several Middlebrooks would make if he was the general manger. But, he’ll just have to leave the roster moves up to Breslow.
