While it may have appeared the Boston Red Sox were going to be forced into a rebuild after being embarrassed last weekend by the Toronto Blue Jays, that may not be the case.

Speculation began to swirl about the status of pending UFA’s like J.D. Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi could fill some needs for teams making a playoff push.

And that’s not even taking into account a guy like Xander Bogaerts, either. Despite having four years left on a deal paying him $20-million a year, the 29-year-old’s name was floating out there in the market.

That is, until he told reporters Thursday night the Bo Sox told him he wouldn’t be traded.

Bogaerts said he’s been told personally that he won’t be traded. “I don’t know if I’ll get in trouble for saying that,” he said. Said it’s allowed him to relax some.

— Julian McWilliams (@byJulianMack) July 29, 2022

If Boston does sell-off, it would undoubtedly be a plus for the Blue Jays. Toronto plays two more three-game series against Boston, including one right at the end of the season and going against torched lineup would only increase the Jays’ odds of winning.

Things will be interesting to watch around the AL in the coming days. The Blue Jays are sitting two games up in the AL wild card race, but a team like the Seattle Mariners, who are sitting half a game up in the race, could be big spenders at the deadline.

Could the Cleveland Guardians, or Tampa Bay Rays make a push at the deadline, too? Things will be interesting to see, to say the least.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at [email protected]

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