The Boston Red Sox currently hold onto the best record in the American League at 55-37 and as a result have sat atop the AL East standings for over a month and a half.
Despite the fact that Boston has been able to establish themselves as the class of the AL, they have had to remain in constant watch of their competition in the AL East and will most likely have to for the duration of the season.
All five teams in the division are separated by 10 1/2 games, while the top four clubs are separated by only six games. Due to such, the Red Sox need to ensure that any issues or weaknesses that need to be resolved are resolved in the coming weeks before the trade deadline.
Aside from issues concerning pitching depth, Boston also needs to address their corner infield situation. While Mike Napoli and Mike Carp have done a solid job at first, third base has been an issue of concern for most of the season. Will Middlebrooks has yet to figure it out and Jose Iglesias (a shortstop in reality) has had to fill in at the corner as a result.
Boston appears to be in full recognition of their problems and should address them in the coming weeks. Exactly which players will be brought in to address those issues is yet to be known, but strong assumptions can be made as to who is currently on Boston’s radar.
With that being said, five players who may be at the top of Boston’s watch list are as follows.
