Ok so what reliable reliever?
As weird as it sounds, Hansel Robles was actually one of the better relievers moved at the deadline. His 2021 hasn’t been stellar, but he was a 1.4 fWAR reliever in 2019. Some of the better ones moved went for packages the Sox simply could not match with their mediocre farm system. Ricardo Rodriguez went for a 23yo MLB pitcher with 5 years of control. Ian Kennedy a as part of a package that brought back, among others, Spencer Howard, who not only has MLB experience, but was also BA#27 before the season,
Yimi Garcia? I’d have been ok with him, but let’s not pretend he has some of career that instills confidence. Kendall Graveman is having a good year, but it’s his first season as a full time reliever and the guy is a walking arm injury (and could we really top Abraham Toro?) Diego Castillo went for what’s dirt cheap package, but no way in Hell was Tampa going to trade him to Boston.
I wanted more, too. But would you have traded Casas for another reliever? The price tag for a lot of these guys was more than expected and more than a lot of prospects in the Sox farm seem to be worth in the eyes of other GMs. And it may be a long time before a Sox GM can trade another highly ranked first base prospects for a relief pitcher again.
Maybe we could have gotten Joakim Soria, but really he strikes me as a guy people get and still pine for someone else…