The Red Sox addressed multiple needs before the MLB trade deadline, but not all of them.
Boston did itself well by adding an innings-eating starting pitcher, a pair of relievers and a hard-hitting right-handed bat before the calendar flipped to August. But Craig Breslow and company did not bolster the club's infield, where Alex Cora has been challenged to work around injuries to Trevor Story, Triston Casas and Vaughn Grisson.
Those efforts have mostly been successful. The Red Sox only are 1 1/2 games back of the final American League wild-card spot with 49 games in their regular season. But infield offense nonetheless remains a "lingering concern" for ESPN's Bradford Doolittle as he looks at the remainder of Boston's campaign.
"Obviously Rafael Devers is not part of the above concern," Doolittle wrote. "Still, Boston leads the majors in team OPS even though the Red Sox are middle of the pack at first base and dead last -- 30th out of 30 -- at second base. Alex Cora has been very creative with the deployment of his position players in the wake of key injuries, but things might be more settled very soon. Triston Casas, who exploded to a 1.034 OPS after the All-Star break last year, is out on rehab, though he's still managing lingering discomfort from his torn rib cartilage. Meanwhile, Vaughn Grissom, whose first Boston season has been limited to 23 games and an OPS+ of 4 (yes, 4) is also on a rehab stint and has been productive in Triple-A as he works his way back. He might have to prove himself in the minors even after coming off the IL, but it still seems as if Vaughn is the best answer at second if Boston is to reach its ceiling. But he needs to hit. Luckily for him, the bar at the keystone for Boston is as low as it gets."
The Red Sox themselves might not be on the same page as Doolittle. After all, Boston entered Thursday ranked in the top five in all of baseball in home runs, RBIs, batting average, OBP, OPS and slugging percentage. Boston probably is more concerned about its starting pitching, which has taken a bit of a nose dive since the All-Star break.
But if those starting arms can make even a marginal improvement, the Red Sox will be well-positioned to not only secure a postseason berth but potentially make some noise in October.
