McAdam: Red Sox not counting on waiver deal to bolster bullpen

If you're counting on the Red Sox to acquire a reliever through a waiver deal before Friday's deadline, don't hold your breath. According to multiple sources, the chances of the Sox making a deal are slim — at best.

Which isn't to say the Red Sox aren't trying to improve or don't recognize that they could use an upgrade. But at this point, the Sox have become victims of their own success. In having the best record in baseball, the Sox get the 14th crack of any American League player placed on waivers, and for a National Leaguer, they're 29th.

(After July 31, any player traded must first clear waivers. If a player is not claimed by any of the other 29 teams, he's free to be traded anywhere. If a player is claimed by another team, the player's original team can either award the player to the claiming team, or pull him back. The player can then be traded to the claiming team, but no other).

"The Yankees will never let anyone who could help get through,'' remarked one major league executive. "There's too much at stake. They'll put a claim in and if they get stuck with (a claim), it will be worth it to them.''

A number of talent evaluators believe there are relievers who have already cleared whom the Sox could obtain. But to a man, these relievers are either struggling in late-inning roles, or primarily middle-relief pieces who wouldn't represent any improvement over the bullpen pieces the Sox currently have.

Getting "just any guy for the sake of doing something isn't (Dave) Dombrowski's style,'' said the executive.

The Sox had focused on landing some bullpen help in July, twice targeting Kelvin Herrera -- first when he was being shopped by the Kansas City Royals and again, right before July 31, when the Washington Nationals, his new team, toyed with turning him around in a second deal.

But when the Nationals changed their minds on July 30 and decided to hold onto Herrera, the Red Sox, with a number of high-leverage relievers already dealt elsewhere, shifted gears and instead filled a need at second base by obtaining veteran infielder Ian Kinsler.

Boston's bullpen has actually performed pretty well statistically, other than a recent dip that has been more the result of over-use thanks to a decline in the starting rotation.

Heading into Wednesday's action, the Red Sox had a 3.44 bullpen ERA, ranking them sixth overall, and fourth in the American League. And for all the angst over the bullpen's performance, the Red Sox are 78-4 in games they led after seven innings.

Still, the lack of an experienced eighth-inning set-up man is somewhat concerning. Matt Barnes has a career-best 14.12 strikeouts-per-nine-inning rate while holding hitters to a .192 batting average. However, Barnes has pitched in exactly one postseason game in his career, raising questions about his experience in big-game situations, and his epic meltdown in Tuesday's eighth inning, during which he allowed four runs and recorded just one out, raised questions anew about his suitability for the role.

That's even more applicable to Ryan Brasier, the journeyman castoff who signed a minor-league deal with the team in March and has pitched remarkably well (0.90 ERA; 17 scoreless outings in 19 appearances). But if Barnes is considered untested, then Brasier is almost a complete neophyte.

At some point, the Sox may have other options to consider internally. Steven Wright tossed two innings in a rehab outing for Pawtucket on Tuesday night and is expected to be activated Saturday when rosters expand. And in the postseason, when a team needs only four starters, the Sox could choose between Nathan Eovaldi or the soon-to-return Eduardo Rodriguez to pitch in relief.

As for other acquisitions before Friday's deadline, Alex Cora has made it clear he's not interested in obtaining a pinch-runner for September and beyond. Last year, Dombrowski obtained Rajai Davis in the closing days of August to provide some speed off the bench, but Cora isn't searching for such that this time.

Meanwhile, there have been whispers that the Red Sox could have some interest in Josh Donaldson, whom the Toronto Blue Jays are intent on moving, according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. Given that Rafael Devers has had two DL stints in the last month and leads the team in errors, Donaldson might make some sense.

But a baseball source indicated this week that the Sox have had no substantive internal discussions about Donaldson, and aren't convinced he's healthy -- he battled shoulder issues earlier in the year and has missed the last three months with a calf injury -- a stance seemingly validated when Donaldson was scratched from an appearance in a minor league rehab assignment Wednesday.