Sort of.

Yesterday’s contest was a make-up game left all the way over from early April — back when Drew Pomeranz was a still a Padres reclamation project, Blake Swihart was in one piece and David Price wasn’t utterly depressing. One day after being called “frontrunners” by the Boston Globe’s Ronald McDonald, the Red Sox pulled out a gritty one-run victory sure to send the clown into a grimace.

Top Play (WPA): Barring a postseason matchup — a distinct possibility — this was David Ortiz’s last game in Cleveland, and he went out with a bang. His two-run donger in the sixth inning gave the Red Sox a lead they would never relinquish, despite the best efforts of Craig Kimbrel later in the game. Fun fact: I like David Ortiz!

Bottom Play (WPA): With the Sox up one in the ninth inning, Kimbrel gave up a leadoff double to Francisco Lindor. More than Rajai Davis’s eighth-inning RBI double or fourth-inning solo home run, this boded well for the Tribe, and things looked especially juicy for the hometown crowd when Mike Napoli walked in the following at-bat. Then Kimbrel struck out some guys and got a popout and we won, but jeepers, man. This heart really can’t take it any more. Celine Dion I’m not.

Key Moment: In retrospect, I’d say Jackie Bradley Jr.’s sixth inning ding-a-ling is worth mentioning, but just to be a contrarian, I’ll go with Carlos Santana’s seventh inning double play ball with Mike Napoli on third and no outs; the WPA gods say they’re .005 points apart, and they drink a lot.

Trend to Watch: Pomeranz was exquisite. If he pitches for the rest of the year like he pitched yesterday, the Sox have a good chance at making some real noise in the playoffs. This may not yet actually be a trend, but let’s hope it is.

Coming Next: The last of three opponents in three days: it was the Diamondbacks in Boston on Sunday, the Indians in Cleveland on Monday, and it’ll be the Orioles in Baltimore tonight. The matchup is Eduardo Rodriguez versus Yovani Gallardo, so if you play daily fantasy, you might want to jam your lineup full of Boston and Baltimore’s hitters. Just a hunch. Because the pitchers are bad, see.

Photo by David Richard/USA Today Sports Images

Top Play (WPA): In the bottom of the seventh, Mike Napoli took a hanging forkball from Junichi Tazawa and sent it to the moon.

That’s a pretty familiar sight. Napoli’s homer was worth .230 WPA, 50 points higher than the next play, which was also a Indians homer – and that one was by Carlos Santana in the first inning. Karma is a thing, I guess, so it’s only right that Napoli would resume his Sox-killing ways instantly upon facing them in 2016. It’s not terribly surprising to see the top play in the game come at the expense of the bullpen, but there a little bit of a mood whiplash, especially after how well the unit performed in the first game.

Bottom Play (WPA): We have a tie! Dustin Pedroia and Pablo Sandoval both had fly outs that each had a -.071 WPA, although they occurred in totally different situations. Pedroia flew out to Collin Cowgill to start off the ninth against Cody Allen, and considering how filthy Allen was for the rest of the inning – did you see that insane 0-1 curveball to Xander? – that all but killed any potential rally.

Sandoval’s fly out happened in the top of seventh. With Hanley Ramirez having hustled his way to third base, Sandoval got good wood on a Zack McAllister pitch, but hit it right to Jose Ramirez. That was the last real chance the Sox had at scoring. Pablo made some solid contact, it just wasn’t placed right.

Also, this has nothing to do with WPA but seems like a good spot to mention that Clay Buchholz was bad. Smh, Clay.

Key Moment: Yan Gomes working a walk out of Noe Ramirez to start the bottom of the sixth inning. This was the beginning of the end for the Sox in this one. Marlon Byrd hit a single in the next plate appearance, pushing Gomes to third, and Juan Uribe was able to hit a deep fly ball for a sac fly to knot the game at six. Walking the leadoff batter is never good, and in Ramirez’s case, it cost his team the lead.

Trend to Watch: Yes, the pitching was bad and we should feel bad, but the more positive trend of note here is Hanley Ramirez’s hitting. After Ortiz demolished a Carlos Carrasco offering to the bullpens, Hanley joined in on the fun.

That didn’t even look like it was hit all that hard.

Jerry Remy remarked on how different Hanley has looked this year, noting a more composed, less violent stance and approach to making contact. We had a glimpse of this in the previous game, as Hanley blasted a double to right field that was roughly a foot from going out, give or take a few inches. It’s a welcome change to a guy who looked uncomfortably stiff at times in 2015, even when he was fully healthy.

Coming Next: The Great Stuff Haver, Joe Kelly, faces off against Danny Salazar in the rubber match in Cleveland. Will Kelly share his stuff with the Indians offense? Or will the Dzar be the only one to have any stuff?

Photo by David Richard/USA Today Sports Images

Going Deep

As I am sure you heard, the Red Sox made a trade on Monday, adding another high-strikeout, ground-ball machine to what has become a strong relief corps. Craig Kimbrel, Koji Uehara (he is still great!), Junichi Tazawa, and newly acquired Carson Smith is an outstanding four-pack at the end of games. But the loss of Wade Miley and his 200 innings pitched raises questions for the rotation, most notably the fifth spot. That spot could be filled with one of (or a combination of) Joe Kelly, Henry Owens, Brian Johnson, Roenis Elias or even Steven Wright. While I think Kelly is best suited as a flame-throwing reliever (make it a five-pack!), Jason Mastrodonato of BostonHerald.com reports that the Red Sox appear to be content with using Kelly (and his great stuff) in a starting role in 2016. Kelly’s month of August, in which he struck out fewer batters, walked more, induced fewer ground balls, and had good fortune in stranding baserunners, has earned him another chance at starting. Kelly tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com he is ready for whatever role is given to him, but feels he can build off his performance as a starter at the end of the year. This could all be posturing by the Red Sox, but if they really are going to move forward with Kelly as a starter then a reasonable plan would be to pair Kelly with a lefty (e.g., Henry Owens, Brian Johnson) in a piggy-back rotation spot. I made this suggestion a while ago, but pairing them in the fifth rotation spot would ease the pressure on each pitcher, help with limiting the impact of the times through the order penalty, and make it more difficult for opposing lineups to consistently gain a platoon advantage. This approach should help get more value out or Kelly than he would provide as a one-inning reliever.

An alternative to using Kelly in the fifth spot in the rotation — and perhaps a more prudent course of action — would be to acquire another quality starter and use the list of players given above as relievers/starting depth. Pitching depth is always critical, and should not be overlooked. Michael Silverman of the BostonHerald.com writes that the Red Sox need a legitimate No. 2 starter to pitch behind David Price. Trading for someone like Shelby Miller would’ve been nice. The Sonny Gray and Chris Sale dreams still linger, but they are likely just that, dreams. Free agency is another avenue to travel, but the players who remain available are not all that exciting (e.g., Yovani Gallardo, Scott Kazmir, Wei-Yin Chen) and would still command a large commitment. All told, it looks like the Red Sox will need to get creative to further improve their rotation.

Quick Hits

The David Price acquisition pushes the Red Sox over the $200 million payroll barrier for the first time in club history. When the dust settles on this offseason the Sox are likely to roll into Opening Day with a $215 million roster. Alex Speier of The Boston Globe has more on the debits and credits to the Red Sox payroll over the next few seasons.

David Price brings a lot to the Red Sox in terms of pitching prowess, but he is also known as an exceptional teammate. Tim Corbin, Price’s coach at Vanderbilt, spoke with Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe about how great a person the Red Sox have signed. The intangibles Corbin suggests Price will bring to the club led Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com to speculate on the role Price will play in mentoring the other members of the rotation.

While there are many who suggest trading Hanley Ramirez is a top priority for Dave Dombrowski this offseason, Hanley is busy readying himself for life at first base with the Red Sox. Hanley spoke with the media at David Ortiz’s celebrity golf tournament this past weekend. WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford highlights Hanley’s comments on a number of topics including playing winter ball, transitioning to first base, working with Brian Butterfield and his fitness. Scott Lauber of the BostonHerald.com suggests that, given his comments, Hanley is ‘all-in’.

If Hanley is to be traded the Red Sox are reportedly already touching base with potential reinforcements, specifically old friend Mike Napoli. Napoli struggled mightily with the Red Sox in 2015 (.247 TAv in 378 PA), but performed well in his opportunities with the Rangers (.318 TAv in 91 PA) after the trade deadline. Supposing Hanley does get moved, pairing Napoli with Travis Shaw in a fairly strict platoon would provide a decent option at first base for 2016.

Craig Kimbrel and Aroldis Chapman were the two biggest fish in the reliever pond this offseason. As you know the Sox acquired Kimbrel last month, but Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports they were working with the Reds on a deal for Chapman before backing away from things when a background check revealed that Chapman had been involved in a domestic dispute – the alleged details of the incident are awful. Ideally the Reds (and/or the league) provide Chapman with the help he clearly needs.

Photo by Troy Taormina/USA Today Sports Images

Why Ramirez over Sandoval?  There is simply no one else at third base.  The free agent headliners at the position this off-season include David Freese, Juan Uribe, and Casey McGehee.  I think we would all agree that rolling the dice on a 29-year-old Sandoval returning to form is a lot more attractive than any of these guys.

The idea of Ramirez fielding balls at first base with any regularity is so frightening to me that I can’t think the Sox brass are really considering it as an option. Of course they are going to say that he’s in the plans so they do not kill whatever motivation/trade value he has left, but Dave Dombrowski is probably fielding calls on him as we speak.  Let’s say he’s successful in moving Ramirez to a team that needs a DH: will you feel comfortable enough with Travis Shaw to give him 600 plus PA?  I didn’t think so.

There are great things about Shaw, not the least of which is the breakout that he enjoyed last season.  Shaw batted .274 with surprising pop, smacking 13 home runs over just 248 PA. These marks, along with his ISO of .217, were better than any that he achieved during his two stints in Triple-A.  In addition to his offensive production Shaw was also very versatile defensively, filling in at third base on eight occasions while playing first base majority of the time.

While Shaw did well as a whole, his average against left-handed pitching of .329 was lightyears ahead .243 he hit against right-handed pitching, and at this point we don’t have a great reason to think it’s a sustainable mark.  During his time in Triple-A the left-handed Shaw predictibly did hit better against right-handed pitching which makes me further question the validity of last year’s struggles.  He likely was not as bad as he showed against righties and not as good as he showed against lefties.

With first base prospect Sam Travis at least a year away from being a legitimate option I have found several lower cost options that could be excellent fits with the Red Sox in 2016.  The first one is the more expensive and certainly less sure thing, but the other three are capable veterans that should come at a steep discount and would make for optimal platoon mates with Shaw.

Byung-ho Park (29)

It has recently been announced that Park would be posted by his KBO club, the Nexen Heroes, and bidding for his services is ongoing and will conclude on November 9th.  There is still a lot to be skeptical about when it comes to KBO stars heading to the MLB. However, Jung-ho Kang did a lot to convince scouts and front offices that a successful transition is possible.

Over his 537 PA last season Park hit an impressive 47 home runs while slashing .348/.439/.731.  This power display also came with an already somewhat high K rate of 25.3%, which would be very likely to rise should he come stateside.  FanGraphs predicts he will get somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million guaranteed, a significant step up from Kang’s four-year $17 million deal.

At this cost, if Park can be a .270 hitter with 20+ home run power, which is possible considering how his stats compared to that of Kang, he will prove to be a bargain.  Park would likely not be given everyday playing time right out of the gate as the club would likely treat him similarly to how Kang was treated last season.  A platoon of Shaw and Park could prove to be not only low-cost but formidable.  This would also allow Shaw the flexibility to spell Sandoval at third on occasion.

Moving on from Ramirez would also give the Red Sox flexibility in the event that Sam Travis does come up in 2017 and earn the starting job at first base. In this case, Park could slide to DH. By this point the position will likely be vacant from the immortal David Ortiz.  Park seems well worth the risk to a club that already has some financial issues to work through as they will certainly be eating at least some of the money for Ramirez’s terrible contract.

John Jaso (32), Justin Morneau (33), or Mike Napoli(34)

Coming off a season where he made just $3.2 million on a one-year contract and an injury shortened campaign Jaso should be a huge bargain.  When healthy last season he hit .286 with a .173 ISO over 216 PA.  As the chart posted below shows he has always had significant success against right-handed pitching. Jaso has spent most of his career as a catcher while sporadically playing at first and in the outfield and he may yet prove athletic enough to adapt to the position with a full off-season of work.  Then again the Red Sox may not want to take this risk again since it sounds so familiar.

Career Stats vs RHP

Morneau is certainly the safest option of the bunch and is fresh off a two year-deal that paid him $12.5 million dollars.  The Colorado Rockies and Morneau recently agreed to part ways, terminating their mutual option for 2016 rendering him a free agent.  As with Jaso, injuries have hampered Morneau in past seasons with 2015 be no exception. However, he has a much more accomplished history as a hitter and a first-baseman.

The problem with Jaso and Morneau is that they both bat left-handed, as does Shaw. Signing either could move Shaw to a bench role, letting him fill in at first base and third base sporadically, but there’s a solid argument to be made that the Red Sox should target a right-handed first baseman instead. The problem? The options aren’t as appealing.

That being said, the Red Sox could entertain the idea of bringing back Mike Napoli.  We all know Napoli’s struggles from last season and his limitations but he is also an excellent clubhouse guy and a sound defensive first baseman.  Throughout his poor stints with the both the Red Sox and the Rangers he still was able to maintain a health .278 batting average vs left-handed pitching.  It is unknown what the market will be like for his services but he is not going to even come close to approaching the $16 million dollars he was making last year.

Final Thoughts 

There certainly isn’t an easy answer when it comes to filling the void that we all hope Ramirez will leave at first base.  The truth is that Shaw has likely done enough to warrant at least partial platoon at-bats at the position, but adding one of the three lower-cost options mentioned later on would be excellent insurance for the almost inevitable regression.

That being said, I do believe that this is the level of player the Sox will aim at since Chris Davis is going cost tremendous amounts of money and the club is financially handcuffed by Ben Cherington’s 2015 off-season spending spree.  The reality is that the Sox could sign all four of these players to contracts for a fraction of the cost it will be to sign Davis.

With either Jaso, Morneau, or Napoli, Dombrowski will likely be able to load up their contracts with performance incentives making the cost to the club relatively cheap.  It may not be the big splash people are looking for but a platoon of, say, Napoli/Shaw or Napoli/Morneau could perform at a high level for a fraction of the cost if they can stay healthy and maintain their performances from last season.

Photo by Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports Images

Going Deep

The question of whether or not David Ortiz would reach the 500-home run mark no longer needs answering; he accomplished that earlier this month. The next question is how much time is left in his storied career. WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford touched on Ortiz’s shelf life last week in a column that noted that although the slugger is aware the end is near, he certainly hasn’t thought or played like someone close to retirement. At 39, Ortiz boasts a .298 true average, a .370 wOBA and 35 home runs — his second-straight 35-homer season — in 2015. He will enter his age 40 season still among the most feared hitters in baseball. But will he keep playing like it? Recent history tells us that it’s possible. Chipper Jones sported a .360 wOBA at 40 years old before retiring in 2012. If you think Jones is a bad comparison, look at what Alex Rodriguez has done at 40 years old this year. His .298 TAv and 32 home runs is no drop-off from what Ortiz has done this season. And as a DH there’s far less of an injury concern. Not until Ortiz hits the end-of-the-line Derek Jeter territory will there be reason for him to consider retirement. At 40, Jeter’s final major league season was an overlooked disaster as he sported a 79 wRC+ and his everyday presence in the Yankees lineup made him a liability. But Jeter was coming off an injury the year before. Ortiz has remained healthy and therefore should be primed for another productive season.

MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith raises a question we’ve all probably asked ourselves at one time this year: Could Travis Shaw be the Red Sox’s first baseman in 2016 if Hanley Ramirez is traded? It’s certainly not ideal, but, looking strictly at the numbers, it could be worse. First off, Shaw already seems like the better of the two right now. Although he’s played in half as many games, his TAv (.293), wOBA (.371) and wRC+ (133) all far exceed Ramirez’s, and we don’t need numbers to tell you who the better defensive player is (Ramirez isn’t just bad at left field, either). But how does Shaw stack up against the rest of the majors? The 25-year-old rookie’s wOBA puts him right between Mark Teixeira (.381) and Jose Abreu (.370) for No. 8 among qualified first baseman. The flaw with that comparison, of course, is that Shaw’s 195 plate appearances far from qualify him in any statistical category. As Smith points out, it’s important to be aware of Shaw’s .304 BABIP, especially as a player who slashed .249/.318/.356 in 322 Triple-A plate appearances this season. Perhaps it’s not the best-case scenario to make Shaw Boston’s starting first baseman in 2016, but it looks likely they’ve unearthed a decent player here. 

Quick Hits

The Red Sox have suffered one of the worst bullpens in baseball this season, sporting a 4.41 ERA as a unit. It’s one of the biggest reasons Boston is a last-place team, and is an issue Dave Dombrowski will need to address in the offseason. Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal offered a potential solution to these woes, using the Blue Jays’ pen as a rebuilding model. Toronto has gone from one of baseball’s worst bullpens to one of the best not by bringing in high-priced relievers last offseason, but by converting middling starters such as Liam Hendricks, Brett Cecil and Aaron Sanchez into hard-throwing relievers who can work with a small repertoire and find success. The Blue Jays own an AL-best 2.94 bullpen ERA since the All-Star break, a key reason for its surge to the division lead.

Xander Bogaerts’ sophomore season has been special. The Boston Herald’s Scott Lauber explains how it also has a chance to be historic. Bogaerts, who has 182 hits — good for second in the AL — with 13 games left entering Tuesday night, has a realistic shot at becoming the 19th player since 1901 record 200 hits in a season at age 22 or younger. That would put him on a list that includes Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio and Cal Ripken Jr. Bogaerts also has a chance to become the first Red Sox player since Dustin Pedroia in 2008 to lead the league in hits as he trails Jose Altuve by three.

There are many reasons to be frustrated with Pablo Sandoval this season. Chief among them are his .229 TAv and his -21.5 UZR/150 — good for worst among qualified third baseman. CSNNE.com’s Sean McAdam resurrected another issue that was especially relevant for the 255-pound Sandoval in spring training: his conditioning. Sandoval left Sunday’s game in the ninth due to “lightheadedness” after scoring from third on a sacrifice fly. McAdam writes that this is an example of why Boston needs to revisit this issue with the third baseman, who the Red Sox still owe roughly $76 million over the next four years, in the winter.

MacPherson wrote another worthwhile piece this weekend. This one was about how Mike Napoli has embraced the transition to left field with the Rangers since being traded to Texas in August. Although Napoli has endured his growing pains, it’s allowed the Rangers to keep him in the lineup and has helped them overtake the Astros atop the AL West. Napoli has a .308 TAv through 26 games with Texas.

Three Good Game Stories

ESPNBoston.com’s Gordon Edes highlights the Red Sox’s 500-home run celebration for Ortiz at Fenway Park before their 8-7 win over the Rays on Monday.

The Rich Hill comeback tour continued on Saturday. The 35-year-old lefty allowed three runs and struck out 10 batters for the second straight game to lead Boston to a 4-3 win over the Blue Jays. Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe writes how these impressive outings could prove beneficial for Hill as he enters free agency this offseason.

Jackie Bradley Jr. was in an ugly, 1-for-30 slump over his last nine games entering Saturday, but, as the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato writes, he broke out in a big way with a pair of hits, including a game-tying home run in the ninth, to help the Red Sox to a 7-6 win over Toronto.

Photo by Mark L. Baer/USA Today Sports Images

He hasn’t received an extended look for Boston just yet, but that could change down the stretch, especially if the club ends up sending Mike Napoli elsewhere in August. The Red Sox have gotten very little in the way of positive performances from their first basemen this season, with Napoli the main culprit behind those struggles.

Overall, the team’s first basemen have combined for roughly league-average production, batting .223/.316/.413 with a wRC+ that sits right at 100. Napoli has been even worse than that, hitting just .211/.308/.393 through 96 contests. Simply put, he hasn’t gotten on base or hit for power with any consistency, and his defense has slipped this year as well.

The one player who has impressed at first base, albeit in just 11 games, is Shaw. His 4-for-4, two-home run performance last Saturday certainly caught the eye. With Napoli’s near-term future anything but certain, and Boston’s roster devoid of any other first basemen signed beyond 2015, Shaw could be in line for some future opportunities with the Red Sox.

What sort of future does Shaw have in Boston? He’s never appeared to be a major part of the club’s plans, though the Red Sox might just have a need for him once Napoli departs. Yet what can we realistically expect from Shaw at the major league level, and can he really contribute enough to make the grade at Fenway?

Drafted out of Kent State in 2011, Shaw didn’t exactly shoot through the minors on his way to Boston. Still, he’s steadily mastered each level during his professional career despite some lengthy struggles in Portland. After reaching Triple-A last summer, Shaw positioned himself to get the call in 2015.

The 25-year-old has never dazzled prospect writers and hasn’t sniffed any top 100 lists during his time in the minors. He didn’t figure into BP’s top 10 Red Sox prospects this preseason, and MLB.com has him ranked 28th overall among Boston farmhands. SoxProspects.com currently has him 14th in the system.

While none of this will impress prospect junkies, that doesn’t mean Shaw is lacking in useful skills. The first baseman has shown decent power, solid on-base ability and hit right-handers fairly well during his minor league career. His performance in Pawtucket this season, where he’s batted .262/.321/.431 with five homers isn’t all that noteworthy, but he did hit .278/.353/.473 with 21 homers between Double- and Triple-A in 2014.

What’s held Shaw back in the past is a propensity for strikeouts (though he’s cut his strikeout rate down from 22.0% to 16.8% in Pawtucket this season) and struggles against left-handed pitching. A year ago in Triple-A, Shaw batted just .189/.253/.256 versus southpaws. He did excel against righties, finishing with a .291/.348/.502 mark in 245 plate appearances.

From this vantage point, Shaw looks more like a platoon player than anything else. It’s hard to envision him suddenly improving against lefties at the MLB level, and those strikeout issues could easily return.

PECOTA isn’t optimistic about Shaw’s chances, forecasting a .235/.319/.396 line for the rest of the season, which demonstrates the biggest problem. Although he’s made good strides down in the minors, Shaw doesn’t have the look of a full-time major leaguer at this point, and he’s an even worse fit for a team like Boston.

Shaw shares a dilemma with plenty of past Red Sox prospects in that he’ll need time to take his lumps against big league pitching—time that Boston likely doesn’t have. When contention is a constant expectation (if not reality), the Red Sox can’t afford to stick with struggling youngsters for very long.

Injuries can always create an opportunity, and if Shaw proves capable of hitting righties down the stretch in 2015, a platoon/bench-bat role is possible.

The futures of Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval also cloud Shaw’s future. One of them looks destined to wear a first basemen’s mitt next season. Barring injury, Shaw won’t be taking playing time away from either. And down in Double-A, the club’s second-round pick in 2014, Sam Travis, is impressing and could reach Fenway late next season if he continues to hit. Being four years younger, Travis has the higher ceiling at this point.

Shaw could still have a role with the Red Sox, both this year and next. Injuries can always create an opportunity, and if he proves capable of hitting righties down the stretch in 2015, a platoon/bench-bat role is possible.

However, any visions of Shaw turning into a full-time player at first base with the Red Sox are likely farfetched. He’ll get a chance somewhere and could carve out a fine career if he’s able to make adjustments in the same manner he did in the minors. With Travis knocking on the door and the Red Sox under pressure to start winning, that opportunity is unlikely to come in Boston.

Photo by Bob DeChiara/USA Today Sports Images

In terms of selling, the situation for the Red Sox is dire. This team was built to win, and had the prospects and money to afford top-tier starters when the deadline came calling. Since the whole winning thing isn’t happening, Ben Cherington’s best course of action is see who has interest in any one of the guys whose contracts are up at the end of the season. Unfortunately, most of them are scuffling. His hands are effectively tied.

But what if the Red Sox decided to become buyers anyway? Obviously they wouldn’t go for rentals, but what if the Sox looked for players who will still be under contract for the next season or longer? This line of thinking isn’t too outlandish when you look at the resources the organization still has.

Their impressive collection of prospects is still intact. Guys like Deven Marrero and Garin Cecchini are effectively blocked at the major league level, and the Red Sox have no reason to start them over the players blocking them. There are even guys deeper in the system, like Carlos Asuaje, who are likely to be beaten out by better, younger players at the same position, such as Yoan Moncada. The trade chips are there.

They’ll have some money to work with after the season ends. Contracts will expire – most notably Mike Napoli’s, if he’s not traded – and who knows if the front office will try to trade a big contract for salary relief. B-Ref projects Boston’s salary in 2016 for just under $160 million, and that includes all potential contract options being picked up – which is essentially $23 million for another year of Buchholz and Ortiz. You could fit an entire big contract in the gap between that and the luxury tax threshold, should the Sox care to stay under it.

Having taken inventory on Boston’s resources, the discussion comes down to potential targets. Two young pitchers who should get more attention than they do are Tyson Ross of the Padres and the Braves’ Julio Teheran.

Ross isn’t even eligible for arbitration until 2016, and the Padres have been listening to overtures concerning his availability. While he boasts a 3.45 ERA, Ross has been rolling with a 2.75 FIP despite a high opposing BABIP and a BB/9 in the fours. I don’t know about you, but any pitcher who can strike out nine or more per 9 IP with a ground ball rate over 55% gets me salivating.

Teheran doesn’t exactly seem like a big candidate to be traded, but the Braves are acting like he’s still available. He’s had a rough year so far, but apart from his most recent start against the Orioles, he’s looked much better in July. Teheran’s contract isn’t even his rookie deal anymore – the Braves signed him to a six-year, $32 million contract. That means no arbitration, and the most expensive he’ll be is $11 million in 2019. Young, relatively inexpensive pitchers are usually worth a gamble.

The Red Sox don’t have to sit on their hands and wait for someone to offer a bucket of Dubble Bubble for either Napoli or Alejandro De Aza.

Sure, there are other options out there, like Carlos Carrasco and even Aroldis Chapman. However, the point is that there are options. The Red Sox don’t have to sit on their hands and wait for someone to offer a bucket of Dubble Bubble for either Napoli or Alejandro De Aza. They can go both ways. Cherington can rid the team of expiring contracts while still reeling in a pitcher who is under contract for 2016 or longer. It’ll be a step in the right direction, and could jump-start the offseason retooling period that is expected to happen.

The Rangers just presented a good example of this. Their acquisition of Cole Hamels wasn’t solely for 2015 – it was so they could pair him with Yu Darvish and have a killer starting pitcher duo in 2016. Texas can still sell as well, since Yovani Gallardo seems like a prime candidate to be shipped off to a team such as the Giants. The Red Sox can do this. It’s not unheard of. This type of management at the deadline isn’t crazy.

The trade of Shane Victorino was a good first step. While Josh Rutledge shouldn’t be the answer to anything except “Who did the Red Sox get back in that trade?” it gave Rusney Castillo two months to get acclimated to the majors. Now’s the time when the hard choices have to be made. The Red Sox have until this afternoon to decide whether to try and get a pitcher they desire, or be content with only selling what little they have. They have the ability and the resources to get what they need for 2016 now. The Red Sox have everything to gain from buying and selling at the same time.

Photo by Winslow Towson/USA Today Sports Images

Top Play (WPA): The Astros did all of their damage with the long ball, as they took Red Sox starter Joe Kelly deep three times. Preston Tucker, a former seventh-round draft pick out of Florida with a sweet lefty swing, launched a towering two-run homer in the fifth (+.124), which put Houston up 4-0. Tucker also homered in the first inning to deep left-center field (+.106), and somewhere in between, Evan Gattis connected with a line-drive shot over the short porch in left (+.110). The Astros lead the majors in home runs, and Kelly was not the man to slow them down.

Bottom Play (WPA): The Red Sox had chances in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, with multiple runners on base and less than two outs. In the fifth, Mike Napoli chopped into a slow-developing double play that ended a first and second, one out rally (-.112). In the sixth, Hanley Ramirez chased a low-and-away slider to strikeout with runners on second and third and one out (-.105). And in the seventh, with runners at first and second with no outs, Blake Swihart bunted a sacrifice attempt back to the pitcher, who easily nabbed the lead runner, Shane Victorino, at third base (-.088).

Key Moment: Some games don’t really have key moments, at least not ones that are easily discernible. They just sort of happen, a series of discrete events all pointing, at least retrospectively, toward the eventual winner. This may have been one of those games. That said, if I gotta pick (and I do!), Tucker’s second home run probably works here. It wasn’t the worst pitch by Kelly — ahh, who am I kidding, it was a pretty bad pitch, a 93 mile-per-hour 1-0 fastball that caught too much plate, ending up in one of Tucker’s apparent wheelhouses. But in Kelly’s defense, sometimes hitters miss those pitches, fouling them back or swinging right through them or popping them straight up. Tucker didn’t, and when the ball finally landed, the Astros had a 4-0 lead.

Trend to Watch: Xander Bogaerts. If you’re feeling down about this once promising season that’s gone off the tracks, just watch Bogaerts. He didn’t do anything particularly out of the ordinary last night — he went the opposite way for an RBI hit and he made a couple of solid defensive plays, both things that are becoming the norm with Bogaerts. He still has flaws in his game, like his lack of home run power and his walk rate, but once you realize that he doesn’t turn 23 until October, that he’s hitting .311 and playing solid defense at short, and that both his power and patience should improve with age, you may find yourself starting to get really excited. It can help distract you from all the losing.

Coming Next: Unfortunately, another game with the Astros. The Red Sox look to avoid the three-game series sweep in Houston, as Wade Miley takes on Lance McCullers. Miley’s been good of late, but McCullers, a 21-year-old who owns a 2.55 FIP over his first 11 major-league starts, has quickly emerged as the Astros’ ace. On Friday night the Red Sox kick-off a 10-game home stand against the Tigers, a team still trying to judge whether they’ll be buyers or sellers at the deadline.

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Brock Holt

Let’s start with the obvious one. Holt is fresh off his improbable trip to the All-Star Game, and clearly isn’t going to be sitting on the bench. With that being said, it’s going to be a lot harder to find a consistent spot for him, though that may not be a bad thing. As we know, Holt’s value comes from being able to play all over the diamond while still playing on something close to an everyday basis. That’s easier said than done, though, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him spend the majority of his time at a single position. First base is the favorite for that, but it’s dependent on Napoli’s start to the second half. More on that in a second. The other strong possibility is right field. Boston has gotten surprisingly solid contributions from the Alejandro De Aza/Shane Victorino platoon, but it wouldn’t shock anyone if that duo slows down and the team prefers Holt’s consistency.

Final Result: Mostly first base, with some right field and super utility work mixed in.

Mike Napoli

As mentioned above, the start to the second half is huge for Napoli’s spot on this team. The fact that they’ve gone this long with him is sort of amazing in it’s own way, but one has to imagine his leash is running short. They’ve already experimented with pulling David Ortiz out of his DH role to play some first, and now they have a natural replacement in Holt being freed up. The hope by most has been that Napoli would eventually start hitting well enough to build up some trade value, but eventually they need to give up on that hope. He’s already a one-year sunk cost, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him designated for assignment if he doesn’t pick it up by the end of the month.

Final Result: Eventually DFA’d, clearing space for Brock Holt

Alejandro De Aza

There hasn’t been a bigger surprise during this recent flirtation with contention than De Aza, who was brought in merely as depth but instead is coming off one of the best Junes of any player in baseball. Now, none of us expect that production to keep up, but he still deserves to be playing until he proves he shouldn’t any more, especially against right-handed pitching. Once Napoli’s time in Boston ends, Holt will shift over to first base and stop cutting into De Aza’s playing time. The latter, in the mean time, can serve as a pinch runner/hitter and defensive replacement, especially in left field. He can also man left field on nights John Farrell opts to put Hanley Ramirez in as his designated hitter. Then, there’s the possibility of a trade, though the Red Sox would have to fall completely out of it, because De Aza isn’t the kind of chip that must be cashed in. Teams know who he is, and won’t give up a ton just because he had a good month.

Final Result: Backup outfield, eventually taking over right field when Napoli leaves

Shane Victorino

This is where we get to the outskirts of changes. As sat as it may be, Victorino is merely a part-time player now, and his role may not change too much with Pedroia’s return. He may see slightly less playing time against right-handed pitching, since the Red Sox can now turn to both Holt and De Aza in that situation, but that’s not a huge change.

Final Result: Not much changes, still the short-end of a right field platoon

Hanley Ramirez and David Ortiz

These last two names are more about speculation than what I anticipate being actual change. Many people will be calling for at least one of these guys to take over first base if/when Napoli is gone, with the other slotting in as the DH. To their credit, there is some strong rationale behind the idea. The move would open up an extra outfield spot to play both Holt and De Aza, and could open up a spot for Rusney Castillo and/or Jackie Bradley later in the year. However, it’s not a practical change. Ortiz can’t handle playing in the field on an everyday basis at his age, no matter how much you may want him to. Ramirez, meanwhile, likely wouldn’t be able to transition to first base as easily as some make it seem. It’s a legitimate consideration for next year, but it’s not a smart move to make the change in the middle of the current season.

Final Result: Keep the status quo

Pedroia’s return to the lineup is clearly a net positive for this team, but they’ll have some decision to makes as the second half begins. Players who had been playing every day will see their playing time drop, their position change, and some may even lose their job entirely. There are a lot of different roads John Farrell can go down, and there’s a chance the decision he makes could be the difference between contention and another lost year. In turn, that could be the difference between him staying on as manager next year and him looking for another job.

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