Will Middlebrooks Selects Red Sox Trade Addition To Make Biggest Impact

Sox Talk with Will Middlebrooks is a recurring content series on NESN.com. Middlebrooks, a former Red Sox player and current NESN analyst, gives his insight and opinion on pertinent Red Sox storylines throughout the season. You can read the latest stories from the series here.

The Boston Red Sox went out and bought at the trade deadline under first-year chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.

In all, Breslow pulled off five trades, parting with several prospects in Boston's farm system to acquire four big-leagues arms, a backup catcher and a pitching prospect.

But which of those players -- James Paxton, Lucas Sims, Luis García, Danny Jansen and ruling out Quinn Priester with the right-hander with Triple-A Worcester -- will make the biggest impact down the stretch with the Red Sox trying to make a playoff push?

Former Red Sox third baseman and 2013 World Series champion Will Middlebrooks took a stab at that question and believes one of the newly acquired right-hander relievers will become a crucial piece in Boston's bullpen.

"For me it's Sims," Middlebrooks told NESN.com. "He is a high-leverage arm. They knew that from when they brought him in because his first outing he was first and third one out here at Fenway his first game with the Sox. They bring him in and he gets out of it."

The Red Sox certainly showed trust in Sims right away by putting him in that tight situation against the Seattle Mariners with the game tied. The 30-year-old displayed he could be an effective reliever with the Reds by accumulating a 3.94 ERA and striking out 290 batters in 224 innings over parts of seven seasons with Cincinnati.

But there will be more pressure on him to perform in a Red Sox uniform than with a middling National League Central team. Sims was up to the task in his first three appearances as he didn't allow a hit or a run, but got shelled to the tune of four runs on four hits in Friday's loss to the Houston Astros at Fenway Park.

Sims said he will look to just shake off that rough outing, and the Red Sox will need him to with their bullpen rounding into shape after struggling following the All-Star break.

The Red Sox could ask a lot of Sims down the stretch, even looking for him to pitch in a different way, but that could also yield big results.

"He's a guy who has used his cutter and his sweeper a lot in his career, but he's also still throwing a good amount of fastballs," Middlebrooks said. "He came over here, it's been spin, spin, spin, spin, which is what they like. If you have good breaking pitches and cutters, they like to use them because not only is it good against righties, a right-handed reliever with a good sweeper and good cutter can be really effective against left-handed batters, too. So, you're not just going to bring him in to face right-handed bats. He can get both guys."