We're now less than three hours from Saturday's 4 P.M. MLB trade deadline, and the Red Sox are becoming less optimistic about making a deal before then.
The price for relievers was still enormous, but that may come down this afternoon closer to the 4 p.m. deadline. If it does, the Red Sox might be able to land a reliever, but for now the plan is for lefty Felix Doubront to start working out of the bullpen in Pawtucket and at some point have both Doubront and Michael Bowden up with the major league team.
The Sox passed on Chad Quails (who the Diamondbacks shipped to the Rays today) because they felt he wasn't that much better than Manny Delcarmen, Ramon Ramirez or Hideki Okajima. One option that still remains is Kerry Wood, whom the Indians just activated Saturday morning (he had been on the DL with a blister on his finger).
This is a player the Red Sox might monitor for a few days to see how his finger is doing. Wood could be had for minimal player price but you'd have to be willing to pick up the remainder of the $10.5 million remaining on his contract and deal with an option year next year. Wood hadn't had a great year, but he still throws hard and had allowed only one run over his last six outings before shutting it down on July 11th.
And of course, the Sox may opt to do nothing at all before the deadline, instead choosing to wait until August to pick up a player they're confident will pass through waivers.