Cherington Doesn't Envision Red Sox Being Sellers At Deadline
BOSTON (CBS) - The Red Sox sit at .500 as they return from the All-Star break, just two and a half weeks away from the MLB trade deadline.
Despite their struggles though, GM Ben Cherington doesn't see the need to blow it all up come 4 p.m. July 31st.
"I don't think blowing it up makes sense for where we are," Cherington said Thursday from St. Petersburg, Florida, where Boston will open a three-game set with the Rays Friday night. "There's a lot of talent on the team. We're right in the thick of the wild card chase. We've played very well since the beginning of May aside from the last week. I just think it would be foolish to start doing things that got in the way of giving us a chance this year."
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"I don't envision a scenario where we're sellers, in the traditional sense of the word," added Cherington. "We have some potential surplus in areas we've talked to teams about, and maybe there was ways that could help us now and in the future. But every year in Boston is too important. We're focused on winning this year, and still believe we can."
The Sox do have a surplus in both starting pitching and the outfield. Boston will implement a six-man rotation out of the break, and with Jacoby Ellsbury returning Friday -- and Carl Crawford expected to do the same on Monday -- players like Ryan Sweeney, Daniel Nava and Scott Podsednik could be made available to clear some space.
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But Cherington insisted he will not make a deal to focus on the future of the team, with their sights still set on October baseball.
"We're always going to do whatever we can to give ourselves a chance to win. There's no such thing as taking a year off in Boston," he said. "We feel like we're right in it and have as good a chance as most teams to be there at the end. But we have to play well and give ourselves that chance, and we'll do everything we can to improve the team in the meantime. We'll see where we are as we get to the later part of July. We've got some ways to improve the team internally, potentially. And we've started to look at ways to improve the team externally. If we play to our capability with the guys we have here, our hope is we don't have to make a lot of moves."
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If the Red Sox do make a move for this year, Cherington said he would think long and hard about dealing any of the team's top prospects for a potential short-term rental that may -- or may not -- put Boston over the playoff edge.
"We never say never; you've got to keep an open mind," he said. "But we feel very good about our farm system. It's come a long way, even in the last 12 months. We feel like that next generation of Red Sox players is coming.
"Our best teams have been able to integrate young players on the team along with a good mix of veterans. We started to do that this year," Cherington said, with players like third baseman Will Middlebrooks and Felix Doubront making big impacts. "We feel we're getting closer to doing that, and we need to protect against hurting our ability to do that. We're not apt to give up young players who we like for a short amount of control or a true rental, especially in this new climate we're working in."
