The MLB trade deadline came and went Wednesday afternoon without the Boston Red Sox making a single move.
But the Red Sox certainly had needs to address, especially in the back end of the bullpen, which owns the worst save percentage in baseball.
So, why didn't they take action? According to Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy, Boston's inactivity was a conscious decision, as there apparently were deals they declined to pursue further.
"Yesterday at the deadline, there were lots of proposals flying around going back and forth and phones going crazy," Kennedy told WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" on Thursday.
"But at the end of the day, we, the Red Sox, were not willing to part with some of the pieces that we think are long-term pieces of the Red Sox."
Kennedy also suggested Boston was at least preliminarily involved in talks that included its big-league players -- one of which may have been Andrew Benintendi, who was rumored to be a desired target of the New York Mets in a trade for closer Edwin Diaz.
Boston Red Sox
"There were some discussions that involved major league players and really rattling cages and shifting things around," Kennedy said.
As Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told the media following Wednesday's deadline, though, the team apparently was hesitant to part with young players or prospects for a short-term rental -- even if that rental could have filled an obvious need.
"I commend Dave," Kennedy said. "Sometimes the best moves you make are the ones that you don't. Rafael Devers could have gone many, many times over the last two or three years.
"... We totally recognize that (the lack of moves) can be disappointing and frustrating. But the message that it sends to our fans is, we believe in this group. ... We feel like we have a chance to be right in there, and when you get into the postseason tournament, anything can happen."
The Red Sox enter Thursday 2.5 games out of the second American League Wild Card spot and 10 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East, so if they want to prove Kennedy right, they should probably start now.
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