The Red Sox have made one trade already, and here are the areas of need they continue to explore ahead of Monday’s deadline

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — While the Red Sox deepened their lineup over the weekend with the addition of Curtis Mead, they continue to look for additional reinforcements. In a crowded postseason field with a number of teams pushing to add talent, the Sox recognize there is more work to be done while continuing to assert themselves in the American League.

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With the distance to Monday’s trade deadline dwindling, here’s a closer look at the primary areas the Sox continue to explore.

The Sox’ surge has been driven by a lineup that has finally started providing regular support to the club’s elite pitching and defense. Over their last 29 games, the Sox are 24-5, averaging 5.0 runs per game.

Even so, there’s room to upgrade, and particularly to add power. It was lost on no one last year that playoff teams went 30-5 when outhomering opponents, explaining some of the motivation to jump at the chance to add Mead to play second base. According to sources, the Sox continue to pursue more offense, with a focus on shortstop or catcher.

Red Sox shortstops have a combined .243 average (15th in MLB), .308 OBP (17th), and .345 slugging percentage (24th), with just six homers. With Trevor Story, Marcelo Mayer, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the injured list, Andruw Monasterio is the everyday shortstop. But he’s ideally cast as a utility contributor rather than an everyday option, leaving the Sox exploring the shortstop market.

Certainly, there have been standout names floating in the rumor mill: Nationals All-Star CJ Abrams, Angels slugger Zach Neto, former World Series MVP Jeremy Peña of the Astros, and more. That said, there are complications to the pursuit of upgrades: It remains to be seen if any of those players (all of whom are under team control beyond 2026) gets moved, particularly with the Nationals in the National League wild-card and the Astros in the hunt for both the AL West and wild card; the cost would be immense because of those years of control; and Neto and Abrams in particular grade poorly for their defense. (Peña’s metrics are down this year, but he’s typically been an excellent shortstop.)

The Sox also are exploring the market for catchers, at a time when their backstops have a combined .228 average (18th), .310 OBP (14th), .314 slugging (25th), and three homers (30th). Clearly, there’s room to upgrade offensively, but the Sox might proceed carefully given the delicacy of pitcher/catcher dynamics. Connor Wong and Carlos Narváez are valued for their game-calling and work behind the plate.

Even so, the Sox are looking at catchers. Rockies backstop Hunter Goodman has been an offensive force who has defensive questions. If the Twins deal Ryan Jeffers, he’d have a number of attributes — nearly as many walks as strikeouts while rarely whiffing, a lot of hard air-pull contact from the right side of the plate, solid pitch framing numbers over the last two years — that could appeal as a rental.

Even before the trade of Connelly Early for Mead, the Sox wanted to add rotation depth. With no certainty about whether Garrett Crochet will start again in 2026, the Sox are six deep in established big league options (Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle, Jake Bennett, Patrick Sandoval, Brayan Bello).

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Meanwhile, Tolle reached 110 innings on Monday, surpassing his 2025 total (108). Bennett is at 98⅔, more than he’s thrown in a season since his junior year at Oklahoma in 2022. There’s a chance of some creaky floorboards in the rotation.

Given the playoff-worthy configuration of the rotation and the increased importance of the bullpen in October, a move to add rotation depth seems more likely than an effort to acquire a top-of-the-rotation or even mid-rotation starter.

But the Red Sox obviously have shown a willingness to pivot to secondary targets in the recent past when they deem both the supply and cost of a backup plan to be better.

The Red Sox’ bullpen leads the big leagues with a 3.02 ERA and has been even more dazzling in July, forging a 1.81 ERA (first) with a solid 24 percent strikeout rate (ninth) and 7.2 percent walk rate (sixth) while keeping the ball in the park (0.6 home runs per nine innings, tied for first).

The emergence of Tyron Guerrero and elite work by Justin Slaten as complements to Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock have given the Sox four high-leverage relievers, a critical factor in their ability to turn leads into wins.

That said, the need for bullpen power arms knows no limits for contenders. Last year, more postseason innings were handled by relievers (437⅓) than starters (425⅔), so even with their current quartet, the Sox are open to adding — particularly given that they don’t have a single reliever who ranks in the top 20 in strikeout rate. (Chapman and Slaten are just outside that group.)

The Sox also have lacked a high-leverage lefthanded middle reliever. The need for one may be at least partially muted by the fact that Guerrero has a 40 percent strikeout rate against lefties. Lefty Jovani Morán has been excellent (2.70 ERA, 29 percent strikeout rate, while holding lefties to a .125/.200/.250 line), but he’s mostly been used in long relief and lower-leverage situations. The Sox used him for a single-inning hold situation on Monday, so it’s possible he’s getting auditioned for an expanded role.

Every team with postseason ambitions could stand to get deeper in matchup options. The Sox are no different.

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