Add The New York Post on Google Desperate times call for desperate measures in Boston.
The Red Sox, mired in the American League East basement at 27-37 entering Tuesday’s slate, are reportedly seeing a member of the franchise’s ownership group jump into the fray to help chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.
“Today, I talked to someone with another team that told me that it’s to the degree that the Red Sox ownership has gotten involved,” ESPN’s Buster Olney said on WEEI’s “Rich and Ken with Ted Johnson” on Monday.
“I have not confirmed the name of the owner, so I’m not gonna mention the name that I heard…but an owner, one of the Red Sox ownership group, is actually calling around and trying to grease the skids to something to add a right-handed bat.”
Boston continued its lengthening history of trading star players or letting them walk rather than pay them, with the likes of Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman all finding new homes elsewhere.
The Red Sox lineup has been one of the worst in the American League this year, ranking 26th in slugging percentage (.374) and 27th in wRC+ (90).
Their lineup is mostly left-handed at the top, with Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida usually occupying top-five slots in the lineup.
The reaction to Boston’s needs around the league, per Olney, has not been sunny.
Craig Breslow Chief Baseball Officer for the Boston Red Sox. Getty Images “Man, [the Red Sox] are desperate,” the ESPN insider said of what he’s hearing.
Their problems aren’t limited to just righty bats, however.
The team already fired World Series-winning manager Alex Cora earlier this year.
Bryan Bello, thought of highly enough to receive a six-year, $55 million deal signed before the 2024 season, has regressed hard this year and was sent to Triple-A Worcester to hopefully get a handle on his game.
Boston Red Sox Principal Owner John Henry. Getty Images According to franchise legend David Ortiz, owner John Henry is “worried” about the direction of the franchise.
It is unclear if Breslow will be on the chopping block himself this season, but rumors of ownership leapfrogging him aren’t exactly a show of confidence.
