Red Sox Fire Sale Remains Possible Despite Hot Streak, Per Insider

Not a lot of fans would enjoy it, but...

Dec 9, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow speaks with the media at the Hilton Anatole during the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The Boston Red Sox won their 10th consecutive game in the opener of a day-night doubleheader with the Tampa Bay Rays, which got them to within a game of .500 for the first time since the third game of the season.

Has that been enough to lift them out of potential seller territory at the upcoming trade deadline?

According to a Friday column from ESPN insider Jeff Passan, while the odds of a sale have certainly diminished, the Red Sox's front office may not have made up its mind that selling will be off the table when the trade deadline rolls around in 2 1/2 weeks.

What we know about Red Sox in seller's market

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Passan didn't cite any sources with knowledge of how the front office was thinking, to be fair. But the insider indicated that if the bottom were to fall out, the Red Sox might be tempted to take advantage of what should be an extreme seller's market.

"For now, their (the Red Sox's) plans are fluid," Passan wrote. "Boston isn't discounting pursuing help before Aug. 3. The Red Sox also know that, for an entire half of the season, they personified mediocrity and that 15 games does not a season make. So, like many others, they're weighing their options, knowing that if they stumble, they can pivot into dump mode and make a killing with (Aroldis) Chapman as well as potentially (Sonny) Gray, Willson Contreras, and Garrett Whitlock."

We wrote about Chapman's unique situation on Thursday on Red Sox on SI. He'll never have a higher trade value, and it's possible in theory that the Red Sox could survive losing him to hang around the playoff hunt. But we'd still lean away from the odds of the Sox selling him unless they truly think they're out of the race.

And if the team plays like it did in Friday afternoon's blowout of Tampa Bay, the seller talk will quickly fade away, even with caveats like the one Passan provided here. A team pushing .500 in this weakened American League just won't sell if it had any intent of contending before the year began.