Dave Dombrowski Needs To Re-Think Trade Strategy With Injured Bullpen
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Dave Dombrowski suggested after the Drew Pomeranz trade that the Red Sox are done making moves to improve the major league club. This was on the same day the team placed Junichi Tazawa on the 15-day disabled list, but before fill-in closer Koji Uehara joined him with a strained pectoral muscle.
Tazawa is expected back in due time, but trade acquisition Brad Ziegler is suddenly the closer and the Red Sox have a serious talent problem in the bullpen that can only be confidently fixed with another trade - preferably, a major one.
Define "major" however you want. Never in a million years would I suggest trading Yoan Moncada or Andrew Benintendi for a relief pitcher, but just about any other prospect ought to be on the table if Dombrowski is serious about bolstering the bullpen for a legit run at a playoff berth and, hopefully, beyond.
Nothing makes my head hurt like parsing people's words and carefully extracting the pieces that fit my argument, like a game of quote Jenga. But Dombrowski didn't exactly say he was done adding to the bullpen in that interview with reporters last Thursday. On whether they need to make any more moves beyond the Pomeranz trade, he said, "We have four [starters] and we're hopeful Eduardo [Rodriguez] will step up at this point ... And we'll see what else happens beyond that."
He continued: "I think our starting lineup, our everyday players, is pretty well set. We should be getting guys like Blake Swihart and Chris Young back in the next few weeks so overall I think we've addressed our main needs, but that's not to say we won't be listening and paying attention to what's going on. You just never can tell." No mention of the relief corps in there at all.
Dombrowski showed with the Pomeranz trade that he is all in on making this year's Red Sox team, armed with a potentially historic offense in the final year of David Ortiz's career, as much of a World Series contender as possible. And that's why he should still be hitting the phones with selling teams to find a talented and/or established arm for the back end of the bullpen, much like the Ziegler deal. He needs to be calling the Atlanta Braves about Arodys Vizcaino, the Oakland A's about veterans Ryan Madson and Marc Rzepczynski, and the Philadelphia Phillies about closer Jeanmar Gomez and setup man Hector Neris.
These names wouldn't necessarily make the Red Sox a World Series favorite, but they'd certainly be better than the alternative.
Depth isn't really the problem in the Red Sox bullpen. They still have Matt Barnes, Robbie Ross Jr., and the returning Joe Kelly to serve in the late innings behind Ziegler. The issue here is talent, and it's a problem that could be their undoing against better-equipped competition down the stretch. Even if you bank on Kimbrel, Uehara, and Tazawa returning at full strength, staying healthy, and producing, the Boston bullpen is not close to that of Kansas City, Baltimore, or Cleveland. Adding a real, talented piece would at least bring them a step closer to that.
Dombrowski may sound like his work is almost done, but it really is not. If the Red Sox are serious about contending in the AL down the stretch and into the playoffs, they need to bolster the bullpen with another move. A big one.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
