What the Red Sox Need to Do At the Deadline

What the Red Sox don't need to do is go after Roy Halladay. The Jays are asking for basically our whole farm system to get Halladay for the year and two months left on his contract. As great as Halladay is, I don't think it's worth it. As a team, Red Sox pitching is best in the AL East, and 8th best overall. Smoltz is bound to find his groove one of these days, Daisuke could come back rested in September, Wakefield will soon be off the DL, and Buchholz will continue to settle in. Pitching isn't really our greatest need right now. Furthermore, over his career, Halladay has only a .613 win percentage after the break, compared to a .710 before. Also, Fenway Park is one of only two stadiums at which Halladay has a losing record (5-8)*, and is the only place he has allowed more than 10 HR (15). I don't see Halladay carrying the Sox to the World Series.

Who the Red Sox should continue to pursue is Adrian Gonzalez of the San Diego Padres. Boston only has one player with 20+ HR this year, Jason Bay, while other World Series hopefuls like the Phillies have four. Adrian Gonzalez is this year's Mark Teixera: a good defensive first basemen with the power to hit one deep at any point in the game. With Lowell struggling, Youk could take some load off and play more games at third, leaving first base open for Adrian Gonzalez. Lars Anderson, a top prospect for the Sox, should be included in the deal because, with Gonzalez locked up for the next couple years, Boston could get away with trading this Minor League slugger.

With Pittsburgh's Jack Wilson getting dealt to Seattle in a 7-man trade this afternoon, the market for shortstops is meager. It looks like Nick Green and Jed Lowrie will have to step up their game for the remainder of the season, and be the 10the tenth man who steps up as the season draws to an end.

I can't think of a much better acquisition than Victor Martinez. This great offensive-minded catcher from the Cleveland Indians could take the place of George Kottaras as the backup for Jason Varitek. Kottaras is a non-threat at the plate, and is on the roster simply because he can catch Tim Wakefield. We're seeing more of Kottaras recently, and it seems like Varitek's 37 year-old body isn't up to the task of catching every day. Since 2003, Martinez is the only catcher to rank in the top three in BA, HR, RBI, and TB among catchers.

*mimimum of 2 starts