Red Sox News & Links: Sox Trade For Bullpen Depth

“Adding to the core” is what we keep hearing about in terms of Chaim Bloom’s goals at the deadline. Specifically, it sounds like he wants pitchers with a couple of years of control. Of course, pitchers with years of control are amongst the single most valuable players on the market, so we’ll see what happens. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

Does Mauricio Llovera count as one of these vaunted young pitchers with years of control? The Red Sox traded for the San Francisco Giants reliever after last night’s game, sending a low-A reliever you’ve never heard of to the West Coast to get him. (Juliana Cimino, NESN)

One name that’s been mentioned a lot as a potential trade chip is Bobby Dalbec. And sure, his power numbers in AAA Worcester are gaudy; but the strikeout numbers down there — yikes! I’m not sure he has a lot of value left. (Mark Feinsand, MLB.com)

Anyway, the difficult trade landscape facing the Sox has landed Bloom on one list of team executives facing the most pressure at the deadline. (Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic)

Alex Verdugo returned from the lineup after taking two days off to try to get his bat in a better place. He still went 0-for-4 on the night, but played outstanding defense, prompting Alex Cora to call him the best defensive right fielder in the game. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)

Rafael Devers’ bat, unlike Verdugo’s, is in a pretty good place at is. He’s been swinging a little too liberally this season, but it worked last night, when he hit a homer on a pitch that was only barely off the ground. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)