2013 Red Sox: Buy, Sell, or Hold?

Jackie Bradley Jr.

With the Red Sox being in the thick of competition that no one saw coming, and the emergence of young stars like Jackie Bradley Jr. and Will Middlebrooks, Ben Cherington and company have some interesting questions to ask; Do the Red Sox Buy, Sell or Hold at the July trade deadline?

Typically for the Red Sox, this answer is a no brainer, when they are competing, they are buyers and when they aren't they are sellers, but with their success stemming largely from the over-performances of veteran free agents, the Sox aren't necessarily looking for another veteran free agent to fill a role. I will break down reasons for each followed with my own prediction as well as what kind of fantasy implications could arise.

XanderBogaerts

BUY/SELL: This is the first and most logical choice right? The Red Sox lead the AL East by 1.5 games and have the second best record in baseball at 39-25. Obvious buyers right? What does that mean could happen? Typically when a team is in a buying state, they need to evaluate what they are lacking on offense and where they can improve in their rotation. In the Red Sox case, they are set in the infield with Middlebrooks, Pedroia and Napoli. They could improve at short, but with Stephen Drew making $9 Million this season, I doubt the Sox move him from a starting role. In the outfield they have Victorino, Ellsbury, the surprising Daniel Nava, and Johnny Gomes on the bench. One of two things could happen. The Sox could move in on a veteran OF bat that could be moving in order for another team to bring up a prospect (Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp in LA for Yasiel Puig or Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran for Oscar Taveras). The only way this happens is if the Red Sox decide to move Jacoby Ellsbury in a package for a younger prospect. The other area they could improve is in their rotation. Other than Clay Buchholz and, oddly enough, John Lackey, the Red Sox rotation has not been consistent or outstanding, but with Lester and Dempster solidifying themselves as well, you could see the Sox make a move for a solid 5th starter to help down the stretch.

Another route for the Sox is with the way Jose Iglesias played in his brief time with the pros, the Sox can try to deal him for a solid player, or they can put their faith in him as the future shortstop of this club and move the organization's top prospect Xander Bogaerts for a proven stud.

This is what makes the Red Sox "Buying" situation so unique is that they have the veteran players to move so they could be both buyers and sellers. With the emergence of Jackie Bradley in spring training as a potential 5-tool player, the Red Sox could just sever ties with the oft-injured and underperforming Jacoby Ellsbury to give Bradley full-time looks.

Simply put, I think the Red Sox will do something at the trade deadline, and personally I think they will do some form of buying and selling, but if I had to choose one, I would assume they will strictly buy and hold onto Ellsbury until the offseason.

Who are some of their potential targets that could find themselves moving come free agency? This list has zero outside sources and is a list I thought of myself.

Offense
Matt Holliday STL
Carlos Beltran STL
Matt Kemp LAD
Andre Ethier LAD
Giancarlo Stanton MIA - Jeffrey Loria is a scumbag
Josh Hamilton LAA
Adrian Beltre TEX
Troy Tulowitzki COL (Very Unlikely, but I know the Sox have always wanted a power SS)
Brian McCann ATL

Pitchers
Tim Hudson ATL (With Beachy coming back they will have Medlen, Teheran, Minor and Maholm)
Jake Westbrook STL (Wainwright, Miller, Lynn, Carpenter, Wacha, Lyons, Gast going down the stretch)
Bud Norris HOU - Prob looking to dump players and build around Appel.
Kyle Lohse MIL - Signed one year deal. MIL will be out.

Fantasy Impact: Trade Deadline
As always, keep your eyes on players around the trade deadline. Players traded from last place teams to contenders see hikes in their RBIs and Runs simply by being in a more productive lineup. Pitchers see more Wins if they are part of a better team.

Buy Jacoby Ellsbury now while his price is low because players who are traded typically see a rise in production especially with him in a contract year he may have a HUGE hike in production once the Sox (inevitably) deal him.

Buy Giancarlo Stanton now while he's hurt and on a bad team. Jeffrey Loria is notorious for trading players away to keep his team salary down. Why should that change now? Chances are Giancarlo will go to a contender and hit in a better order and a better ballpark.

Sell Matt Harvey. With his team struggling to put up runs and wins, the Mets will most likely do one of two things, they will find an excuse to put him on the disabled list to slow down his innings count, or they will just shut him down before September. No need to overwork the young superstar while they're team is still garbage.