The Major League Baseball trade deadline takes place a month from Saturday, on Aug. 2, and from where the Red Sox currently sit, that seems like a long, long way in the distance.
A lot can happen between now and then, especially when you take a look at the Sox' schedule, which is chock full of series with powerful lineups like the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays.
As it is, it's painfully obvious that the Red Sox don't have sufficient quality arms in the bullpen. Of their eight relievers, just three -- Tanner Houck, Matt Strahm and John Schreiber -- can be described as dependable, high-leverage options. And as we were reminded Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field, that trio isn't enough.
None of the three, in fact, pitched in the Sox' excruciating 6-5 loss to the Chicago Cubs because the Sox never had the lead after the sixth inning, and Alex Cora has to choose his battles. When you're behind in the final three innings, it doesn't make much sense to deploy your more reliable relievers because you're likely to need them the next day, when you might be ahead.
Still, good teams have lesser arms who are least capable of keeping games close -- either before you get to the later innings and the more trustworthy guys take over, or to ensure that a deficit doesn't get any bigger. Here, too, the Sox are woefully short.
In the span of an inning and a third, three relievers -- Tyler Danish, Hansel Robles, and Jake Diekman -- proceeded to, metaphorically speaking, pour accelerant on the already smoldering hot mess. They combined to allow two hits, five walks and a wild pitch, resulting in three runs. And that doesn't count an additional inherited baserunner who scored while Danish was on the mound in relief of injured starter Rich Hill.
In all, of the five bullpen-issued walks, four led to directly to runs.
How bad was it? Cubs shortstop Andrelton Simmons, among the least choosy hitters in the big leagues, came into the game with an on-base percentage of .229 with four walks in 72 plate appearances. And yet, somehow, the Sox bullpen walked him in consecutive innings. That's not easy to do.
"People have to step up,'' said Cora. "Not every day is (the starter) going to go seven innings...We just have to do a better job as a staff.''
Some help is on the way. Josh Taylor could be activated when the team returns home from the current trip. Chris Sale could rejoin the rotation in another nine or 10 days, freeing someone in the rotation -- likely Garrett Whitlock, currently on the IL himself -- to return to the bullpen.
Houck, Whitlock and Schreiber would give the Sox three dependable right-handers for the final few innings. But more are needed.
It's difficult to understand why Robles is still on the roster. His ERA sits at 5.70 and he's allowed runs in four of his last seven appearances -- three of them resulted in multiple runs scored. And that doesn't count the two inherited runners he allowed in Tuesday's gruesome loss to Toronto.
If nothing else, a couple of possibilities at Worcester -- Zack Kelly and Frank German -- couldn't do any worse.
Another potential issue will be imbalance. When Taylor comes back, the Sox will have four lefties -- Diekman, Strahm, Austin Davis and Taylor -- representing half of their eight relievers. Diekman has another year left on his deal, making him tough to move. But would it not make sense to move either Davis or Taylor for a righthander? That would seem particularly important with so many games coming up against New York and Toronto, two teams that feature overwhelmingly righty-heavy lineups.
And that's the problem with remaining patient. Sure, the Red Sox will almost certainly acquire an established righty reliever at the deadline, but the Sox can do a lot of damage to their playoff chances in the next four-plus weeks if they're not better equipped to win some of those head-to-head matchups against division rivals.
It took the Sox the better part of two and a half months to achieve the long-sought-after structure in the back end of the bullpen, anchored by the move of Houck to the closer's spot and the further emergence of Schreiber, who's been nothing short of a revelation.
But there's more work to do. Having achieved structure for late-in-game situations, the Sox are still desperate to find stability in the sixth and seventh. If they're not convinced there are solutions in Worcester, they had best acquire them via trade.
And not on Aug. 2, when better than half the other teams will be looking for similar reinforcements. Instead, the time is now, before the current bullpen's shortcomings make an upgrade at the deadline a matter of too little, too late.