Red Sox giving John Henry, Craig Breslow no excuses at trade deadline

On the heels of a thrilling comeback win over the rival Yankees on Friday night, the Boston Red Sox are sitting prettier than most anyone would've guessed. They entered Saturday's middle-game of the series in the Bronx having closed the gap behind New York to only 4.5 games, 7.5 games back of the Orioles atop the division, and with a 1.5-game lead for the final AL Wild Card spot.

For a team predicted by many to finish in the cellar of the division and that infuriated the fanbase in Craig Breslow's first offseason -- largely in part to the tight checkbook of John Henry -- by their lack of activity, it's been an undeniably exciting and surprising season so far for this team.

But for weeks in the thralls of the wild card race, the narrative has been that the Red Sox have been on the fence about whether to buy or sell at the trade deadline. It's now time to get off of that fence, however. It's time to buy and, regardless of what Henry and Breslow say from here on out, they don't have any meaningful excuse to not take that direction.

Red Sox have no excuse left to not buy at trade deadline

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was asked about the Red Sox on the FOX MLB pregame show on Saturday and he too put the pressure on the front office to do something to improve the roster, specifically with eyes on the rotation.

"They better be buyers," Rosenthal said. "They are playing like a team that is hellbent on making the postseason and Cora has them going. They're athletic, they're young, they're exciting. What they could use is another starting pitcher. They have had great starting pitching all season long but the problem is, they're one injury away from a real problem occurring. Also with them, a middle infielder would be great, someone like Luis Rengifo, who is on the IL right now with the Angels, would kind of stabilize them a little bit. But they can get by with their position group, they need more starting pitching."

Rosenthal's assessment of the team's needs is spot on. Whether it's a rental coming at cheaper cost like Jack Flaherty or someone else of that ilk or a massive swing for someone like Garrett Crochet, the Red Sox need to upgrade the rotation and could settle the middle of the infield too if they have the opportunity.

But the insider's more prescient point is simply about the direction that Boston needs to go. This team has proven itself worthy of investment. They've inserted themselves firmly in the playoff race, entering Saturday nine games over .500, despite Triston Casas being on the shelf for most of the year, despite Garrett Whitlock missing almost the entire season, despite never seeing Lucas Giolito (the team's biggest offseason addition) take the mound, and despite a litany of other injuries.

Casas is nearing a return and there's a world in which Breslow is pushed to frame that as the club's big trade deadline "addition". That won't suffice based on what the Red Sox have done. Any excuses or logical fallacies used to argue inescapable inaction from the front office won't suffice and, frankly, would be a slap in the face to this team and to fans.

This is a playoff-caliber team who is undeniably going to get even more dangerous when Casas is back. They could be even more with the right trade deadline moves. If Breslow and even Henry don't recognize that and act upon it, it's a call for righteous outrage directed at them from fans, from players and from anyone who would be watching malpractice.