MLB Rumors: Details Of Red Sox’s Pre-Trade Deadline Discussions

It’s going to be a very busy week for the Red Sox executives.

To be fair, this is the case every year for all MLB front offices in the week leading up to the trade deadline. But Boston — which entered Tuesday two games out of the final American League wild-card spot — is in a particularly tricky situation. As a club with playoff aspirations as well as a future brightened by top-tier prospects, cases could be made for both buying and selling before July 30.

So, one can imagine Craig Breslow and his team have made many phone calls in recent weeks and will continue to do so until next Tuesday. In a column published Sunday, MassLive’s Sean McAdam pulled back the curtain on the vibe of those conversations.

“The Red Sox have already held conversations with multiple teams,” McAdam wrote. “For now, with better than a week to go, much of the discussions are exploratory in nature, built around hypothetical proposals and what one major league executive termed ‘a lot of feeling out.'”

McAdam also revealed clubs that have spoken to Breslow and company have heard the Red Sox are “largely focused” on adding a starting pitcher and/or right-handed bat. Buying certainly feels more likely than selling at this point, as Boston was one of the best teams in baseball in the month-plus leading up to the MLB All-Star break.

But little can be stated with certainty, so we will have to wait and see what Breslow has cooking in his first summer as Red Sox chief baseball officer.