What Is Red Sox’s Biggest Trade Deadline Need As Craig Breslow Eyes Upgrades?

The clock is ticking on Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. He has three weeks to upgrade the team’s roster before the July 31 MLB trade deadline.

For much of the last six weeks, everyone has been trying to figure out if the Red Sox will be buyers or sellers. Boston has won seven of its last nine games and sports a four-game winning streak which has the Red Sox just two games back in the American League Wild Card standings.

As a result, Breslow is expected to approach the deadline looking for ways to upgrade the club over the short term and long term. MLB.com identified the top trade deadline need for each club. When it came to the Red Sox, it was easy for MLB.com’s Ian Browne to pick what Boston needs most: “a first baseman with pop.”

“This has been a need since Triston Casas ruptured his left patellar tendon on May 2, Browne wrote. “It became even more of a need on June 15, when Rafael Devers was traded to the Giants, taking another powerful lefty bat out of Boston’s lineup.

“Mix in an impact acquisition at first base with the imminent return from injuries of Alex Bregman and Masataka Yoshida and the Red Sox could have a potent offense,” Browne concluded.

Manager Alex Cora said Monday Yoshida will be activated this week, “most likely Wednesday.” Bregman will be back “sooner rather than later.”

As for the first base trade market, one of the best options is Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Josh Naylor. He drilled his 11th home run of the season Monday in the 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres. Naylor went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks to raise his batting average to .299. He drove in a pair of runs, giving him 58 RBIs on the season.