Baseball is a cruel business. Tsung-Che Cheng will always be remembered as one of the spark plugs of the Sox’ historic 15-game win streak. Cheng appeared in 9 of the 15 wins and started 8 of them, putting up an OBP of .407 during the stretch and stabilizing the middle infield defense. But with the arrival of Curtis Mead, the Red Sox needed a roster spot and it was Cheng who was sent to Worcester… on his birthday. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
The demotion of Cheng is a reminder that every tine a team
adds someone new and exciting, there’s always going to be someone else who is disappointed about the old players who are sent packing. Those mixed emotions were prevalent throughout the clubhouse with respect to the departure of Connelly Early. “There’s a lot of guys in there that are very close with Connelly, and he’s been a huge part of this,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “I think at the same time, it sends a message like, ‘Hey, we’re trying to do some things to fill some gaps, with the run scoring and things like that, and we added a power bat.” (Matty Wasserman, Boston Globe)
Craig Breslow himself also described the trade as “incredibly uncomfortable,” but felt he had to do it anyway. “A lot of front offices are looking at very similar information, so trying to find an opportunity to win a trade is not nearly as easy as it maybe it would have been at another point,” Breslow said. “Instead, in this position, I’ve tried to shift to our goal not (being) to win the trade. Our goal is to make our major league team better. Sometimes, the most straightforward way to do that is a need-for-need-type trade.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
And by all accounts, the Sox aren’t done with the trade market. So who could be heading out the door next? Here’s a breakdown of the minor leaguers who are most in demand. “The Sox were willing to discuss Arias last year in deals for Twin hurler Joe Ryan or Arizona slugger Ketel Marte. His value has gone up since those conversations, but if the Sox want one of the potential jewels of the trade market such as Angels shortstop Zach Neto, Arias would be a necessary price.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
The fact that Arias is just about untouchable is a big reason why the Red Sox don’t land all that high on this ranking of teams most likely to land Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. (The Athletic)
And with the return of Ranger Suárez, the Red Sox rotation may not need much of an upgrade. (Scott McLaughlin, WEEI)
Hunter Goodman is also being viewed as a potential big game price, with the Sox, Yankees, and Rays amongst other teams all being mentioned as looking for a catcher. (Ken Rosenthal, Will Sammon, The Athletic)
