Boston Red Sox: Predicting Ben Cherington's 4 Biggest Trade Deadline Goals

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Boston Red Sox GM Ben Cherington needs to trade a couple of players away and make sure that several key players return without a hitch.

Cherington signed three players in the offseason because the 2012 Red Sox have a lot of money on the books and a surplus of talent at the minor-league level.

For instance, Will Middlebrooks has shown he can play third base at the major league level. This means the Red Sox no longer need Kevin Youkilis and can shop him around for some other talent.

Trade Kevin Youkilis

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Kevin Youkilis is no loner needed on this Boston Red Sox team due to the fact that Will Middlebrooks is absolutely killing the baseball and playing a solid hot corner.

This is why Ben Cherinton needs to get rid of Youkilis, even if that means eating most of his salary.

Youkilis has struggled of late and is now hitting .219 on the season. In his last 10 games, he is 4-for-32 with no home runs and only four walks. He has also struck out nine times.

It is time for Red Sox Nation to move on from Yoooouuukk! and allow Middlebrooks to be the everyday starting third baseman.

Have a Healthy Outfield

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The projected starting outfielders—Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Crawford and Cody Ross—are all on the DL. Meanwhile, it is ridiculous how well players such as Scott Podsednik and Daniel Nava are performing.

What Ben Cherington really needs to do is wait for all the regulars to return to action and not make any deals that could hurt team chemistry.

Nobody knows what this team will be like when Crawford and Ellsbury are both running around the bases and annoying pitching staffs game after game.

It will be great to see either of them return before the end of June, but even right before the All-Star break would be a benefit for the Red Sox.

Second Place in AL East

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The Boston Red Sox are dead last in the AL East, but there is plenty of season left to get back into the playoff hunt.

As of June 13, the Red Sox are six-and-a-half games behind the first place New York Yankees and five-and-a-half behind the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays.

This gives the Red Sox roughly 48 days to change the tides and fight for a playoff spot. It would not surprise me if the Red Sox moved back to second or third place by the trade deadline or remain where they are now.

The AL East is the toughest division in all of baseball and the Red Sox will stay in playoff contention all season long because of its offense and the bullpen.

Find a Lefty for the Bullpen

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With Rich Hill out for nearly a month and a half due to a sore flexor tendon in his left elbow, according to the Providence Journal, the Boston Red Sox need one more lefty in its bullpen.

One lefty the Red Sox have been looking at over the past several seasons has been reliever Mike Gonzalez. Gonzalez was on the Baltimore Orioles, but was traded away to Texas in 2011. In the offseason, he signed with the Nationals and has yet to allow a run in three innings.

The 34-year-old is a veteran and has a career ERA of 2.19. The Red Sox could use all the help they can get in the bullpen and Ben Cherington needs to be on the lookout for any reliever that is a cheap trade away from being on the Red Sox roster.