Red Sox president Sam Kennedy: No player 'untouchable' as trade deadline approaches

The Major League Baseball trade deadline is set for Aug. 31, but it's unclear how aggressive teams will be in pursuing players due to the shortened 60-game season. 

The Boston Red Sox, who have the worst record in the American League at 6-12, certainly are in need of some help. With that in mind, Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy said Thursday on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" that no player is untouchable ahead of the deadline. 

“You look at this team and we still have a really young group of core players that you’d like to see with the Red Sox for a long, long time. We’d never label anyone untouchable, just given the fact that sometimes to re-tool and restructure for the future, you do have to sometimes make difficult decisions, as you saw with the Mookie (Betts) transaction. I don’t think anybody would be untouchable as it were, but there are certainly guys who have grown up in the system that we’d like to keep with the Sox for a long, long time.”

As for players "who have grown up in the system," Boston has turned shortstop Xander Bogaerts into one of the best players in the game at his position. The 27-year-old recently signed a six-year, $120 million extension to remain with Boston, and averaged .309 at the plate last season -- one of the Sox's best hitters. 

Similarly, the Red Sox are in the process of turning Rafael Devers into an unstoppable machine. The 23-year-old, who is far better at the plate than in the field, averaged .311 at the dish last season with 32 home runs.

When discussing potential untouchables in Boston, Bogaerts and Devers may end up being the only ones who truly have a secured position with the Red Sox despite Kennedy's comments.

As for players who could be on the chopping block, teams reportedly were interested in outfielder Andrew Benintendi in December and designated hitter/outfielder J.D. Martinez also frequently comes up in trade rumors. 

The Red Sox currently still have a shot to make the playoffs this season, though it's unlikely with how things have gone for them in the past month. If they make a trade, it'll likely benefit them in the future instead of having an immediate impact.