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Heyman: Not Predicting An Exciting Trade Deadline For Red Sox

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Red Sox are all but out of the playoff picture, sitting at 42-51 and nine games back in the AL East following their sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels.

With the July 31 trade deadline just a few weeks away, it's looking more and more like the Red Sox will be sellers. On the latest edition of Inside Baseball, both Dan Roche and Tony Massarotti said they want to see the Red Sox go in sell mode, but wouldn't mind them making a move that will benefit 2016 and beyond. The first name that comes to mind is Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels, who is signed at $20+ million per year through 2018 with a team option for 2019.

CBS Sports baseball insider Jon Heyman joined Zolak & Bertrand for his weekly call on Tuesday, and said given Boston's place in the standings at the moment, a Hamels trade is very unlikely for Boston.

"It's unusual to see a team not in the race trade for a No. 1 pitcher, even if they have years left on their contract like Hamels does. The teams motivated to trade for them are in contention and teams who need help at the moment," said Heyman, noting the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers are the most likely landing spot for the veteran starter. "I know the Sox have been in the mix, but when push comes to shove, it's rare to see a non-contending team spend big money on a player of that ilk."

Even with some veterans they would like to part ways with, Heyman doesn't think Boston will be able to do much at the deadline.

"They don't have a lot of pieces that are going to bring back a lot. They have some high-paid veterans, guys making big salaries, and young players they want to keep," he said. "They have guys like [Pablo] Sandoval and [Hanley] Ramirez who make a lot of money, and [David] Ortiz isn't going anywhere. They could potentially trade [Shane] Victorino, [Mike] Napoli or [Koji] Uehara, but I'm not seeing a big haul coming back for anybody they have on that team right now.

"I'm not predicting a very exciting trade deadline [for the Red Sox]," said Heyman. "They're not bringing back any great prospects for [any veterans] at this point."

While Heyman doesn't think the Red Sox will be able to do much, find out who he believes will be very active come next Friday:

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