Three months ago, the Boston Red Sox sat at the bottom of the MLB standings with a shockingly bad 2-10 record. All-Star additions Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford had been OK and terrible, respectively. John Lackey looked like the worst regular starter in the major leagues.

But now, as we approach the trade deadline, everything has changed. Gonzalez is a bona-fide MVP candidate, Crawford seems to be turning a corner after spending some time on the DL, and Lackey has been at least one step above horrible. The line-up scores more runs than any other, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon have been one of the scariest eighth-ninth-inning combinations in baseball, and they’ve got decent middle innings from Matt Albers and Alfredo Aceves. Most importantly, the Sox now sit atop the American League with a 62-37 record and hold a three-game edge on the Yankees.

That isn’t to say that all is well at Fenway, though. Two of their three best starters, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, are on the 15-day disabled list. Josh Beckett’s remarkable bounce-back season and Lackey’s slight improvement mitigates those losses slightly, but the fragility of the starting rotation has to make Theo Epstein nervous.

Crawford’s inconsistency and fragility in left field, paired with J.D. Drew’s tough year in right, has also raised some concerns. The emergence of lefty-hitting 24-year-old Josh Reddick as Drew’s replacement – initially a temporary role, now seemingly permanent – has been a huge boon to the Sox, but they could use an extra outfielder in case Reddick falls back to earth or Crawford falls into another slump.

Their bullpen also lacks a reliable lefthander, as Randy Williams doesn’t look like a viable option.

While these all might seem like minor quibbles, Theo Epstein isn’t going to leave the phone off the hook, put his feet up and smoke a cigar while his team wins 98 games. Boston’s savvy GM has told reporters that while he doesn’t feel he has to make a move at the deadline, they’re still exploring all options.

Here’s a quick rundown at some of the players they might take a look at.

Carlos Beltran, OF, New York Mets

Beltran is the best hitter on the market and seems like a sure thing to move by July 31^st. He doesn’t want to DH – and it’s hard to imagine David Ortiz giving up that role – so unless Crawford’s play tails off drastically in the next few days, Epstein isn’t going to pay the necessary price to rent a fourth outfielder who would likely leave in free agency.

Josh Willingham, OF, Oakland Athletics

The fire sale appears to be on in Oakland, and Willingham, the lone effective bat in the A’s miserable line-up, should be on the move. He’ll come cheaper than Beltran, and would offer some balance as a right-handed bat in an all-lefty outfield. The Royals’ Jeff Francouer is a similar possibility.

Rich Harden, SP, Oakland Athletics

Harden is obviously a huge injury risk, but he’s looked OK since making his first start of the season on July 1^st. If Epstein thinks Harden can stay healthy for another couple of months, he would be a nice third or fourth starter as well as insurance in case Buchholz’s back doesn’t hold up.

Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, Colorado Rockies

The Rockies have set an extremely high price for their 27-year-old righty – understandable given that he was one of the best pitchers in MLB only 12 months ago. Another young starter with ace-quality stuff might be a luxury the Red Sox won’t be willing to bet the farm for, but sweeping him up from under the Yankees’ nose would be another feather in Epstein’s cap.