Red Sox Winners at Trade Deadline
Photo from PawSox Twitter |
Ryan MacLeod (RyanMacLeod15)
Contributing Writer
Read that headline again. Does it make you question my sanity? Does it make you say "WTF, how are they winners?" Let me explain. The Red Sox are winners because even if they had gone out and traded for Chris Sale there is no guarantee that they would have been favorites to win the American League Championship Series and advance to the World Series. With other teams like the Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians pushing all their chips into the pot for this year's title, it appears that this postseason is going to be wide open on the American League side.
People want to use the phrase "mortgage the future of this team" when talking about Yoan Moncada and Andrew Benintendi. What people need to realize is that those are just two players that could be part of the future of the Red Sox, but the future of the Red Sox is also currently playing shortstop, center field and right field. That's right, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Mookie Betts are the current core. Keeping Benintendi and Moncada could take a team that is already young, and make them younger. Benintendi can join the already fun outfield and play left field, making the BBB the funnest outfield to watch. Win, dance, repeat. And Moncada, who is a natural second baseman, can move over to third base, solidifying the left side of the infield for years to come.
As Red Sox fans, we typically overvalue the prospects in our organization. Dave Dombrowski came to Boston with a reputation to disassemble farm systems, worrying more about the team currently on the field than the teams that will be on the field in the future. If you look at who the Red Sox have traded for since Dombrowski joined the Red Sox I would have to say that he has done a great job. Trading Manuel Margot for Craig Kimbrel looks like a steal after seeing what some teams gave up today to acquire bullpen help. Trading Anderson Espinoza for Drew Pomeranz was a good deal, even if Pomeranz has not yet been the pitcher the team expected him to be.
The Red Sox are a team that is designed to win now, but they are also a team that has been designed to win in the next 5 years. Trading for Sale would have helped this team win now, but it would have hurt their chances to win in the future. Sale will still be there this offseason, and you can believe that if the White Sox were willing to listen to offers for him at the trade deadline that they will listen to offers for him this December. Trust me Red Sox fans, the fact that Moncada and Benintendi were not traded today will help this team in the long run a lot more than Chris Sale would have helped this team in the short run.
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