It's been a really tough season for Boston so far, their results have been up and down and the Red Sox are currently in a losing season.
The Red Sox currently sit bottom of the American League East Division looking up and the clubs they should at least be competing with, considering the talented roster they possess.
The same can't be said for the Houston Astros as they march towards October and the playoffs.
Dusty Baker's side are 11 games ahead of their nearest challengers, the Seattle Mariners, who incidentally have acquired Cincinnati Reds pitcher Luis Castillo, but gave up a lot of prospects to obtain him.
| What | Boston Red Sox vs. Minnesota Twins, Game One of Three |
| Where | Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas |
| When | 20:10 ET Monday, August 1st 2022 |
| How to watch | ESPN |
Storybook finish?
Trevor Story, the shortstop acquired in the winter as a free agent, has been dealt a blow following an exam on his right wrist.
The 29-year-old hadn't been recovering as quickly as he would have hoped following being hit by a pitch on July 12th and it was revealed on Friday that Story had a hairline fracture in his right wrist.
Before the latest diagnosis, it was hoped that Story would be able to get back playing within a matter of a couple of days. Now he won't hit for an unknown timeline for a return to action.
The hairline fracture is just another chapter in the up and down season for Story, who signed a six-year, $140million pact to join the club in March. In 81 games, Story is batting .221 with 15 home runs and 58 RBI's.
Speaking to the official Red Sox website, team manager Alex Cora said about Story: "When he starts swinging or whatever, we'll see how he feels and we'll go from there. The other stuff, running and all that stuff, he'll keep doing.
"Just the swinging part of it, we were trying to get to where we wanted, and he wanted to do the same thing. It wasn't happening. Now, we're just going to have to shut him down."
Are the Red Sox buyers or sellers?
With the trade deadline only a couple of days away, the Red Sox were 50-50 about what they wanted to do, but the recent defeats to Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers have pushed the Red Sox front office to concede and sell some of their veteran players it seems.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has said he does not plan to trade Xander Bogaerts or Rafael Devers.
J.D. Martinez's name is prominent in trade rumours though, and pending free agents Nathan Eovaldi and Christian Vazquez could be valuable trade chips.
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Astros make their move
With the Astros making an American League statement by sweeping the New York Yankees following the All-Star Break, they are moving towards the top seed in the AL, just four games behind the Bronx Bombers, who are having a little wobble at the moment.
Will the Astros make a move before the Trade Deadline?
As Houston looks to try and make their fourth World Series in six years, they have been looking at a potential trade for Washington Nationals' first baseman Josh Bell.
Enquiries have been made, but at the moment the asking price appears to be too high, or that Washington is asking for a lot of prospects in return.
That said, the Astros could be willing to listen to offers for some of their starting pitching, which they seem to have a surplus. Lance McCullers Jr is working his way back from injury.
Jose Urquidy is the most obvious candidate to be moved out, the pitcher enters arbitration after this season and does not become a free agent until the end of the 2025 season.
Head-to-Head
Boston lead two games to one over the Astros this season, with the earlier series having taken place at Fenway Park.
Last year at Minute Maid Park the Astros won the series 3-1. Overall, Boston leads 36-30 against Houston in the meetings between the two sides.
Prediction
With Boston likely to accept trade deals for some of their veteran stars this deadline, I can see quite a bit of apathy within the fanbase for the remaining games and the Red Sox have to build for next season and the future.
The Astros should win this season and may even sweep the three games.
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