When the dust settled after Thursday night’s trade deadline, the Red Sox stood with two new pitchers but no major impact additions, a haul that largely fell short of expectations.
Yet speaking to reporters Friday afternoon, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he believes the team did enough to compete down the stretch.
“I think we got better and I think this team is a lot different than the last three,” Cora said. “We’re more complete, we pitch better, our bullpen is in a great place. I’m very happy with where we’re at.”
Cora offered praise for the club’s new additions, right-handed starter Dustin May and left-handed reliever Steven Matz. May is expected to arrive in Boston on Saturday and will make his team debut on Wednesday, while Matz arrived in time for Friday’s series opener against Houston.
Matz will replace fellow lefty Brennan Bernardino, who was optioned to Triple-A Worcester, and Cora said he expects the 34-year-old will become a key bullpen piece.
“Good fastball, veteran, strike thrower,” Cora said. “We’ll see how we play it out but I think he’s an important piece who is going to help us a lot.”
With the Red Sox off on Thursday, Cora took advantage of the downtime and stopped into the club’s Fenway Park offices for the last couple of hours leading up to the deadline. There he got the rare opportunity to see the proverbial sausage being made as the clock ticked towards 6 p.m.
“It’s crazy. I don’t know how they do it,” Cora said. “Just to be around. Honestly we went to the party and we had plans later, I just wanted to see how people worked, how it works. I’ve never been there, I’d never been, and people freaking grind. I just saw part of it, they’ve been grinding for weeks.
“A lot of phone calls, a lot of moving parts, it’s crazy to be honest with you,” Cora said. “It was fun to watch, I didn’t have to make decisions, I was just sitting on the couch and looking at people, but it was a good learning experience.”
Now with the calendar turned to August, Cora said he and the team are ready to get to work.
“We have a shot to make something special here this year,” Cora said. “You look at the Green Monster and we’re in third place five games back. We feel like we can compete with anybody and we’ve got a real shot to win the division.”
Giolito pitching Sunday
Originally the Red Sox announced that Dustin May would make his team debut on Sunday, but shortly afterwards provided an update saying that Giolito would be pitching instead.
Cora said they decided to go with Giolito because he would have had to wait too many days between starts otherwise and the veteran preferred to stay on something closer to his usual schedule.
With Walker Buehler scheduled to start Saturday and Giolito on Sunday against the Astros, the Red Sox will now line up with Brayan Bello for Monday’s opener against the Kansas City Royals, Garrett Crochet on Tuesday and May on Wednesday.
Extra innings
The Red Sox are still seeking additional opinions on Marcelo Mayer (sprained right wrist) and Tanner Houck (right flexor pronator strain) but expect to have clarity on Mayer by Saturday. Cora said he still believes Mayer could play again in 2025 but he’s less optimistic about Houck’s chances. … Right-hander Nick Burdi (right foot contusion) began a rehab assignment in Triple-A on Friday. … The Red Sox promoted two notable prospects on Friday, calling former first-round pick Mikey Romero up to Triple-A Worcester and highly regarded outfielder Miguel Bleis to Double-A Portland.
Originally Published:
