Boston Red Sox GM Ben Cherington: ‘we have the core of a winning team’
By Hayden Kane
The Boston Red Sox have a number of issues to address as they try to snap out of a 10 game losing streak. That frustration appeared to boil over on Sunday afternoon with they were involved in an altercation against the Tampa Bay Rays that cleared the benches.
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The issues run up and down the Red Sox roster, from an offense that is underachieving to a starting rotation that needs some help. Some holes are more glaring than others, but ultimately there is plenty of blame to go around when a team falls into this kind of losing streak.
That said, Red Sox general manager is not ready to point to poor roster construction as the primary problem. At least not yet. As quoted on ESPN Boston, here is what Cherington had to say:
"“We know we have the core of a winning team here,” Cherington said. “And we’re going to win.”"
Cherington did say that the team might explore the possibility of making more moves, trades included, if things do not improve in short order:
"“At some point, if the production is not there, we have to think about changes,” he told reporters during his session in the dugout. “There’s nothing to announce, nothing specific we’re looking at. But we’re deep enough into the season, we know our limitations, we know where we have to get better, and we’ll look at every avenue to get better.”"
The Red Sox will have the payroll flexibility to make a bold move, including a big trade, sometime this summer. But will they be in position to justify such a move? Cherington might need to see some sign of improvement before he starts parting with assets in trades to improve the current roster.