As soon as the 2021 MLB trade deadline passed, many Boston Red Sox fans were frustrated with how few moves the team made.
Aside from the additions of Kyle Schwarber and a couple of not-so-noteworthy bullpen arms, Boston didn’t do a whole lot to keep up with the moves that many of the other contending teams made.
Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom has been a popular man in the greater Boston area since taking over the decision-making role in the Red Sox organization, but he caught some heat from some fans over his approach at this deadline.
To make matters worse, the Red Sox are now sliding—they are 1-5 since the deadline.
Watching the Red Sox since the trade deadline like pic.twitter.com/ExObd4IlMs
— Boston Diehards (@Boston_Diehards) August 6, 2021
The skid has cost Boston its top spot in the American League East.
The Tampa Bay Rays now hold a one-and-a-half game lead in the division race.
Hindsight is 20/20, but it certainly seems like the Red Sox should have done more to improve their roster.
What are two trades the team should have made?
2. A Deal For A High-End Reliever
You can never have enough relief help.
The Red Sox do have a reasonably sturdy bullpen, but one more high-end arm would have done a lot for the team.
Instead, Boston brought in two bullpen arms with poor track records.
Right-hander Hansel Robles was acquired from the Minnesota Twins in a small deal.
He pitched to a 4.91 ERA, 4.82 FIP, and 1.39 WHIP over 45 appearances with the Twins before being traded.
He has a career 4.01 ERA.
Boston also added lefty Austin Davis from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
He posted a 5.59 ERA, 5.44 FIP, and 1.14 WHIP across 10 outings with the Pirates prior to the trade.
He has a career 5.52 ERA.
Needless to say, neither Robles nor Davis will really move the needle for the Red Sox.
The team is going to have to make do with what it has.
1. A Deal For A Reliable Rotation Arm
It didn’t have to be a deal for a guy like Max Scherzer, but adding a reliable rotation piece would have gone a long way for Boston.
The team’s rotation made it through the first half of the season just fine, and that was due in large part to surprising campaigns from Garrett Richards and Martin Perez.
However, both of those guys have hit a wall.
Richards had a 3.88 ERA on June 6.
Today, he has a 5.21 ERA and has been shelled to the tune of a 7.36 ERA over his last nine starts.
That’s not a serviceable arm.
As for Perez, he had a 3.09 ERA on June 3.
Today, he’s looking at a 4.77 mark.
Similar to Richards, Perez has pitched to a 7.13 ERA over his last 11 starts.
Not good at all.
Red Sox quickly showing since the deadline that maybe they needed to add more SP help
— Eric Samulski (@SamskiNYC) July 31, 2021
The Red Sox do have help on the way in the form of Chris Sale and Tanner Houck.
When both those guys join the staff, Boston will be able to roll with a rotation of Sale, Houck, Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, and Eduardo Rodriguez (though not in that order).
That’s an improvement.
However, rotation question marks will still linger, as Rodriguez is having a tough year (5.33 ERA) and Pivetta has been inconsistent at times (he has allowed four runs or more in four of his last six starts).
The problem could have been solved at the deadline.
Instead, it went unaddressed.
NEXT: Dream Lineup For Red Sox In 2021 MLB Postseason