If the Boston Red Sox continue to struggle coming out of the MLB All-Star break, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom may decide it's best to trade a veteran player on an expiring contract ahead of the Aug. 2 MLB trade deadline rather than acquiring talent to make a postseason push.
But if you ask Lou Merloni, the Red Sox should sell at their own peril.
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On Monday's episode of NBC Sports Boston's Talkin' Baseball, the former Red Sox infielder warned that if Boston winds up dealing a player like designated hitter J.D. Martinez, right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, catcher Christian Vazquez or shortstop Xander Bogaerts, the club risks losing the faith of other franchise cornerstones -- like All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers and manager Alex Cora.
"The minute you do all that, you're probably going to lose the third baseman of the future, because he's going to be wondering why the hell he wants to stay here in this type of organization," Merloni said. "You're probably going to lose the manager as soon as his deal is up, because he's going to be thinking, 'Why even stay here if my GM isn't even going to give me the talent I need to go forward and win?'
"And you're going to lose a fanbase, and you'll start wondering about Chaim Bloom's future here in Boston. If that's the path (Bloom) wants to go with, good luck."
Devers is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2023 season, and reports suggest he and the Red Sox were very far apart in contract negotiations this spring. Cora's contract runs through the 2024 season.
Even if Bloom views selling as the best option at the deadline -- the Red Sox are 16.5 games behind the American League East-leading New York Yankees, sit two games out of the final AL wild card spot and just lost Chris Sale to a fractured finger -- that may send the wrong message to a team that came within two games of a World Series appearance last October.
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Bogaerts stated publicly Monday that he wants the Red Sox to "get some help" at the deadline, so if the Red Sox go the other direction and wave the white flag, core members like Devers and Cora may decide it's not worthwhile to endure a rebuild (even if it's minor).
While Merloni's take is just speculation, it does highlight the current pressure on Bloom, who is at risk of potentially losing two franchise cornerstones in Bogaerts and Devers as he tries to determine which path to take his team between now and Aug. 2.