OAKLAND, Calif. — It’s down to the final two weeks before the trading deadline and Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein is with the team to assess what needs to be done to keep it afloat in the second half of the season.
He quipped that the Sox will “look like the ’27 Yankees’’ when all the injured players return, and that could be true, but trying to bridge — there we ago again with that word — the next two weeks before all that happens is the tricky part.
The Sox have been in talks with many teams, said Epstein, and the latest name attached to them is catcher Chris Iannetta, the Rhode Islander who played his high school ball at St. Rafael Academy, a short distance from McCoy Stadium.
The Sox discussed Iannetta with the Rockies earlier this year, but according to a Foxsports.com report the talks between Boston and Colorado have revived lately. Iannetta, solid defensively, is hitting .220 with seven homers and 14 RBIs this season, though he’s been streaky. Earlier in the season he was demoted to Triple A Colorado Springs, but now he’s on a streak in which he’s hit four homers in the last five games he’s played.
Sox catchers have been abysmal at the plate since Victor Martinez went down with a fractured left thumb June 27, and Epstein would like his catchers to contribute to the offense.
Martinez was supposed to be back right after the All-Star break, but it appears he’s going to be at least 10 days beyond that. He’s started to play catch, and while he still has soreness the team has provided him with a guard so he doesn’t go through the roof when the ball hits the thumb. Martinez should be ready in a few days (he’ll likely have a rehab assignment).
Replacement Kevin Cash is a good receiver, but he’s only hitting .100, and that’s currently hurting a lineup already void of Dustin Pedroia and Martinez. So Iannetta remains a possibility, if the price is right.
Epstein reported he isn’t close to any trades; other needs are a reliever and possibly an outfielder.
The Sox have been stung by the ineffectiveness of lefthanded reliever Hideki Okajima, who had been fantastic the last two seasons. He’s had some back issues this year, but it appears the league has started to figure him out and Okajima has not made the proper adjustments. If the Sox go for bullpen help, they would love a lefty who can fit that Billy Wagner role from 2009.
While Toronto lefty Scott Downs would be the catch of all catches, it appears the Blue Jays are holding out for quite a list of prospects. The Yankees also have interest in Downs, and it’s going to be tough to land someone of that caliber.
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