The Boston Red Sox failed to make any meaningful additions prior to the Aug. 1 MLB trade deadline despite being just a few games out of a wild card playoff berth in the American League.
In fairness, it's not easy to make major trades before the deadline because the price to acquire the best players is often very high. But at the same time, when a team is in the thick of a playoff race, it's always a good idea to bring in some kind of reinforcements.
The Red Sox aren't punting on the 2023 season. They weren't trade deadline sellers, either. But it's pretty clear that the Red Sox are playing the long game when it comes to building a consistent winner.
The franchise isn't interested in trading away its top prospects for short-term help.
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"There are so many assets in our system that are desirable and that clubs want and are interested in. And just frankly, we're not willing to part with them,” Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy said Thursday on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show." "We think we have the ability to compete and win this year, but we also have now – I think Fangraphs ranks us fourth in all of baseball in terms of our system.
"Just a couple of years ago, when Chaim (Bloom) came in, we were down at the bottom in terms of our minor league system. So, who knows how these prospects will all develop, but there were a lot of inquiries. We just didn't get to a place where we matched up on anyone that would have been a headline grabber for these final 50 games."
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Baseball America unveiled their new Top 100 prospects ranking this week. Four players in the Red Sox system -- Marcelo Mayer (16th), Roman Anthony (20th), Miguel Bleis (82nd) and Kyle Teel (95th) -- made the list.
The Red Sox have struggled since their inactivity at the trade deadline. Boston is 3-5 during that span, and the team is 4.5 games out of a playoff spot as a result. FanGraphs gives the Red Sox just a 11.5 percent chance of reaching the postseason. The franchise is on track to finish last in the AL East for the third time in the last four years.
Developing a strong foundation of young talent is a good way to build a long-term winner. But how patient will the fanbase be while this plan develops? Will ownership stick with this plan? Having an elite farm system is great, but at some point it has to result in on-field success at Fenway Park.
