Will Sox regret not making a major trade?
DAN SHAUGHNESSY
Globe columnist
This question can't be answered fairly for several years. If the Sox finish second for the ninth straight season and fail to make the playoffs, there certainly will be some local gnashing of teeth. But we don't know precisely what deals were turned down, and it'll be years before we can measure the importance of holding onto prospects they were unwilling to trade. There was certainly some bad luck involved when two veterans from the starting lineup went to the disabled list in the wake of the non-trades, but that's just bad timing and bad luck. Still, if the Sox don't make the playoffs, the silence of July 31 will be cited.
NICK CAFARDO
Globe baseball columnist
I don't think there will be any regrets about keeping Jon Lester, Craig Hansen, Manny Delcarmen, or Jacoby Ellsbury. They took their best shots at Roy Oswalt and Roger Clemens, kicked the tires on Andruw Jones, Julio Lugo, and J.D. Drew. They couldn't find a trade for Trot Nixon to make a Bobby Abreu move make sense. So they moved on. It's simply bad luck that Nixon injured himself right after the Abreu deal went down with New York. Bad luck Jason Varitek went down the day after that. Dontrelle Willis and Oswalt would have been the only guys I would have considered trading the prospects for.
AMALIE BENJAMIN
Globe baseball reporter
Perhaps. But it's too soon to tell. Knowing the answer requires knowing exactly how Jon Lester and Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen will perform over the next decade. If they're stars -- or even just good -- Theo Epstein might have set up his club well for a lengthy stay at the top of the American League. If they're not, well, he missed a golden opportunity to ship them out when their value was highest. For the near future, it seems the Red Sox will regret not adding a starter, especially with the prospect of riding out the season with the Jason Johnson-Kyle Snyder tandem every fifth day.
GORDON EDES
Red Sox beat reporter
If you're talking about inside the clubhouse, there is already frustration that the Sox did nothing to upgrade themselves and came into this weekend with a misshapen roster of 13 pitchers and a short bench. These guys have just one investment, and that's in today. The future means little to them, and they're left to wonder whether the Sox did all they could to get a Bobby Abreu or Cory Lidle or another impact player. The frustration in the front office is tempered by a longer view, that they held onto the core of players that represent the team's future. But can you count on being this close to winning down the road?
STEPHEN SHAW
Millbury
No. The prices were too high. Teams were not asking for minor league prospects but instead asking for young guys at the major league level like Wily Mo Peña, Lester, Hansen, and Delcarmen. If the Sox are to remain contenders for the World Series every year, they need to hold onto these assets. With low-salaried effective players on the roster, the Sox can leverage their financial advantage in the offseason to sign or trade for more expensive players. As for this season, the Yankees have definitely improved themselves, but the Sox can still make the playoffs. I look forward to facing them in the ALCS for the rubber match.
