Red Sox waivers failure further proof Chaim Bloom fudged the trade deadline

The Boston Red Sox had a better-than-expected first half of the 2023 season. Even though they lost players like Xander Bogaerts and Nathan Eovaldi this offseason, they were above .500 and in position to make the postseason. With manager Alex Cora saying that he would like the team to make a big move to help with their chances, that wasn't the case. Boston's lone big move on trade deadline day was acquiring infielder Luis Urias from the Milwaukee Brewers.

As it turned out, the Red Sox explored adding some players that were big moves at the trade deadline.

According to The Athletic's Chad Jennings (subscription required), the Red Sox did some "internal digging" about putting in waiver claims for starting pitcher Lucas Giolito and relief pitcher Reynaldo Lopez from the Los Angeles Angels. Jennings does note, however, that it's unknown if the team put in claims for both.

What is known is that Giolito and Lopez, along with Matt Moore, were claimed by the Cleveland Guardians.

Red Sox explored potentially putting in claims on Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez

At first glance, Red Sox fans would think, "Why didn't the team add these two pitchers at the deadline?" Well, the Red Sox were obviously not content with giving up prospects to the Chicago White Sox for both pitchers. But, the need for pitching was glaring at the deadline, and the Red Sox opted to pass.

The Angels were looking to bolster up for a postseason push, as they were not far out of a Wild Card spot and wanted to make a run with star Shohei Ohtani before he hits free agency this winter. To acquire Giolito and Lopez, the Angels traded away catcher Edgar Quero and left-handed pitcher Ky Bush, their second and third-overall prospects in their farm system. After the trade was made, the Angels plummeted down the Wild Card standings and this past week, waived all of their trade deadline acquisitions, including Randal Grichuk, Hunter Renfroe, and Dominic Leone.

Giolito, Lopez, and Moore were claimed by the Guardians on Thursday, as they were five games back of first place in the AL Central at the time.

Entering Saturday, the Red Sox lost their previous five games, including a 13-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals. They have a 69-66 record, sitting 14.5 games back of first place in the AL East and 6.5 games back of the final AL Wild Card spot.

Again, it's unknown if the Red Sox put in claims for Giolito or Lopez, but they did at least explore the possibility.