Article: The Trade Deadline Has Come and Gone, but the Red Sox Can Still Add to This Team

[Nick John]

The trade deadline has come and gone, and with it, many Red Sox fans feel underwhelmed. While they had their eyes set on bigger names, the team instead brought in Steven Matz and Dustin May to help improve their pitching staff. Many felt that the team should have brought in more firepower to help this team fight for a playoff run. However, many forget that the team can still add players from now until the end of August and have them be eligible for the postseason.

It isn’t how things used to work before 2019, where big names could get traded, but there are still players eligible to be traded after the deadline. Prior to 2019, a team could place a player on revocable waivers, where if a player was claimed you could either negotiate a trade or pull the player back off the waivers. Remember the trade in 2012 that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to the Dodgers to get money off the books? That was an August waiver trade. Unfortunately, stuff like that can’t happen now, as players who can be traded in August must meet three criteria:

1. They must be signed to a minor league contract
2. They have not been on a 40-man roster all season
3. They have not been on the MLB injured list at any point of the season

The new rules really limit the quality of players who can be traded now, but it isn’t out of the question to see key contributors packaged in an August trade. The Red Sox did it twice in 2021 for extra depth, though neither player really moved the needle much. First acquiring outfielder Delino DeShields from Texas (only to eventually trade him to Cincinnati near the end of the month) and then trading for Brad Peacock on August 30. Peacock would provide 5 1/3 innings across two appearances when the team was dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak.

This season, there aren’t too many names that really stand out as possible key additions, though there are two players the team could look into as depth for August and September: first baseman and outfielder Joey Meneses and pitcher Josh Fleming.

Meneses, who is 33 years old, last played in the majors in 2024 with the Washington Nationals, where he struggled to a .231/.291/.302 slash line in 76 games. The year before, however, he played in 154 games and hit .275/.321/.401 with 36 doubles, a triple, 13 home runs and 89 RBIs. Add to it that this season with the Syracuse Mets, he’s hitting a respectable .282/.333/.451 with 31 doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 47 RBIs, it might not hurt to take a chance as a depth option.

Fleming, on the other hand, is a 29-year-old left-handed pitcher who has dealt with injuries in 2022 and 2023 while also putting up less-than-ideal numbers in 2024. This season, he’s pitching for the Tacoma Rainers in Triple-A, where he’s appeared in 33 games and produced a 4-2 record. In 59 1/3 innings, he has a 4.40 ERA while only striking out 34 batters.

Again, these players are not typically in high demand and serve more as extra depth, something that the Sox may need at first base with their belief that Kristian Campbell has more work to do and Abraham Toro having regressed since July.

Another way to bring players in is through waivers. Where in the past you could pull a player off waivers if they were claimed in August, that is no longer the case. Now, you can only place them on outright waivers (if you want to clear a 40-man roster spot) or release waivers (to release a player) and if they get claimed, that’s it. Usually, this move is seen as a salary dump as the team receiving the player takes on the salary owed, but it doesn’t mean impact players can’t be acquired. Just last season, outfielders Tommy Pham (who looks to be a candidate for this again this season) and Robbie Grossman were moved in this way, as were infielders Emmanuel Rivera and Amed Rosario.

This season, there are a few names that could be interesting for teams, but maybe not the Red Sox with how their current team is built. One such player that the Red Sox may hope to see placed on waivers is Josh Bell. Bell, a 32-year-old first baseman playing for the Washington Nationals, is having a very mediocre season. In 94 games he’s hitting .228/.322/.386 with 10 doubles, a triple, 13 home runs and 40 RBIs. However, when you look deeper, you'll realize his struggles may be due to bad luck. His batting average on balls in play is .249, and when you realize his expected batting average, on-base percentage and slugging are all higher than his actual numbers (.252/.345/.445), you can’t help but wonder what his numbers would look like if a few more hits dropped in. He also walks at an 11.1% rate and barrels the ball up at a 10.5% rate, which might entice a few teams to take a chance at him if he becomes available.

The last way of adding players is really the most obvious: signing free agents. The Red Sox did this in 2021 with Jose Iglesias, as he took over at second base in September and went on a tear. Unfortunately, he wasn’t eligible for the playoffs as he signed after the deadline to add eligible players, but without him, there’s a good chance the 2021 team misses the playoffs. All Iglesias did in 23 games that September was hit .356/.406/.508 with four doubles, a triple, one home run and seven RBIs. He also played his standard top notch defense between second base (18 games) and shortstop (five games), where he only committed a single error between the two positions. 

There aren’t many interesting names in this regard either, and of those available, none really fit what the Red Sox need... at least at the moment. There’s always a chance another team releases a struggling player to open up a roster spot, but the addition may not move the needle much.

The trade deadline may be the last chance to add a bona fide impact player, but it isn’t the last time that teams can add to their rosters. It all comes down to what minor league players are available and who in the majors is placed on waivers. Honestly, it’s all about luck with these moves, but sometimes, there is a player or two who can still be an impactful addition.

The Red Sox made the moves they did, and unless they pull off a minor league deal between now and the end of August, there aren’t any other reinforcements coming that aren’t already in the organization. The team has depth, but the question is how that depth will compete against the best teams in the league. Regardless of how you feel about the trade deadline, the Red Sox have put themselves in a position where if they miss the postseason, they have no one to blame but themselves.

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[moonslav59]

I doubt we find someone like this, but we do have Harrison, who has not been with the big club, yet.

We may also add Sandlin to the 40 and maybe give him a shot.