Rafael Devers didn't mince words about how he wants the Boston Red Sox to approach the MLB trade deadline.
The star third baseman believes the team, which enters Monday only 2.5 games out of the final wild-card spot, should make an effort to bolster its pitching staff. He shared his feelings on the matter with Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe.
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“Everybody knows what we need,” Devers told the Globe on Sunday. “Hopefully we can get that in the next few days. We can’t control that as players. All we can do is give 100 percent on the field. But we need pitching. ...
"We’ve been killing ourselves to be in the position we are in now. We would like them to reward us with a few good players coming in before the deadline. I think that’s something we’re looking forward to.”
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom stated last week that acquiring pitching was a priority. He sent utility man Kiké Hernández to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two minor-league pitchers and acquired reliever Mauricio Llovera from the San Francisco Giants, but those moves don't move the needle much for Devers and others who want the front office to buy. The need for a middle or back-end rotation arm remains.
The problem is that most of the realistic options who were rumored to be on the trade market have already been moved, including Lucas Giolito (Los Angeles Angels), Lance Lynn (Los Angeles Dodgers), Jordan Montgomery (Texas Rangers), and Aaron Civale (Tampa Bay Rays). While there are still a few realistic names out there -- Jack Flaherty (St. Louis Cardinals) and Michael Lorenzen (Detroit Tigers) stand out as possible fits -- the Red Sox are running out of time to make a splash.
The 2023 MLB trade deadline is set for 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
