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Since the trade deadline the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox have really struggled. Cincinnati is just 1-7 since August 1st while the Red Sox are just a little better at 2-5 since the trade deadline.

I was surprised to hear that people are trying to compare these two teams as neither one was very active at the trade deadline and that’s what their struggles are being blamed on.

With the exception of both teams not doing much at the trade deadline the similarities stop there for me. The Red Sox are much more of a veteran team as they have eight of eight of their nine regulars over the age of 26 with three of them being over 30. The Reds on the other hand just four regulars over the age of 27 and just one over the age of 35.

The Red Sox also play in the best division in baseball, so it’s unclear what kind of deals they would’ve had to of made to get themselves in contention. Cincinnati on the other hand plays in what might be the worse division in baseball, and should they have mortgaged the future they’ve been building with their prospects for this season?

Then you also have to ask, what big names were out there for either team to acquire? Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer where the only really big names moved at the trade deadline and while both the Red Sox and the Reds probably could’ve used either of them would it have been the right move for either team?

The Red Sox may get some help for their starting rotation as it’s being reported that Chris Sale is going to start for them on Friday of this week. Sale has battled injuries for the last few seasons, but he was solid this season making 11 starts and going 5-2 with an ERA of 4.58.

The Reds also got some veteran help back as Joey Votto returned on June 19th. Votto has struggled since returning as he’s hitting just .203, but he’s added some power to the Reds lineup as he’s hit 13 home runs in the 40 games he’s played since returning.

It does appear that both teams could’ve used some kind of help, but who and at what cost. There are always people who said they should’ve put a package together to acquire Shohei Ohtani, but the Los Angeles Angels made it very clear that they weren’t going to trade Ohtani, so people need to stop suggesting that.

Some of the other names out there were players like Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellenger who both play for the Chicago Cubs. It’s doubtful that the Cubs would’ve made a serious inter-division trade with the Reds and don’t forget that the Cubs also said that they would be hanging onto Stroman and Bellenger as they were going to try and get into the playoffs themselves.

As things sit right now the Red Sox are 58-55, but unfortunately that puts them in last place in the Amercian League East. Boston is 12 games behind the division leading Baltimore Orioles, so winning the division isn’t going to happen, but the Red Sox are just 5 games out of a wild card spot. The biggest issue to the Red Sox wild card chances is that they’d have to jump five teams to get that final wild card spot and that’s not easy to do this time of the year.

Cincinnati is 60-56 which puts them not only a 1 1/2 behind the division leading Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central, but they are also just 1 1/2 games out of a wild card spot. Unlike the Red Sox the Reds just have two teams that they’d have to move past to get into a wild card spot.

It’s unclear if either team will get into the playoffs as we still have a little less than 50 games to go in the regular season and a lot could happen between now and the end of the regular season.

So, what do you think. Do you see either the Red Sox or the Reds getting into the playoffs or maybe you think that both teams will find their way into the playoffs. Let me know what you think, and which team has the best chance to get in the playoffs in your opinion.

As always don’t forget to look for me on Twitter or is it X now. Either way I’m @Burketime.