Where Red Sox Stand Going Into Trade Deadline, Per Craig Breslow

As the Boston Red Sox's red-hot summer continues into the second half of July, the trade deadline represents a real pivot point in the season.

With a 49-48 record entering the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays and an active 12-game winning streak, the Red Sox seemingly escaped the talk of a fire sale that dominated the last two months. Names like Sonny Gray, Aroldis Chapman, and Willson Contreras don't seem likely to leave town, though in Craig Breslow's regime as chief baseball officer, nothing can ever be ruled out completely.

Breslow's actual plans are more likely to involve buying, but the question now is to what degree that buying will represent a "go for broke" type of approach. Breslow addressed that question with some enlightening qualifiers on Sunday.

What Breslow said before Rays finale

“The next 10 days or so are going to be really critical in informing that, understanding where guys like Ranger (Suarez) and (Connelly) Early are in the short term, understanding where Roman (Anthony) is, and Garrett (Crochet) is, and Trevor (Story), because that’s going to help dictate not just what we do, but where we focus. So, still a lot of information to factor," Breslow said, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.

Breslow also strayed away from some of the rhetoric he'd used around deadlines in the past related to picking a path between buying and selling. That's not to say that the Red Sox will take a middle-of-the-road approach of some kind, but that the league landscape makes things more complicated than usual this year.

“I think this year in particular is unique because of the standings, and because of how many teams are still in it and there not being clear teams that are selling,” he said. “While everyone’s looking for a declaration, that’s not always the most prudent path. Really, until you are faced with a decision that you either have to say yes or no to, you’re just collecting information."

If the Red Sox add in any capacity, it would make a lot of sense to add more right-handed hitting. The rotation should have enough bodies regardless, but Early's injury timeline could be particularly influential on whether a starter is a thought for Breslow. Then, of course, any team can use bullpen help.

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