Henry: 'Don't anticipate many changes at all'

WOBURN -- Speaking at Jason Varitek's Celebrity Putt Putt fundraiser event at Athletic Evolution, Red Sox principal owner John Henry told WEEI.com that he does not expect his team to undergo significant alterations before the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31.

"We like this team, so I don't anticipate many changes at all," Henry said. "I think more so than in years past. Obviously, we could use a strong right-handed bat, but this year that's a difficult commodity to get.

"We gave up a few prospects in spring training, so we would prefer not to do that. It will be driven by what opportunities exist, if any. There have been years where we haven't really done anything, and there have been years we saw an opportunity. It's hard to say."

Henry also addressed the notion that the organization's budget was such that it would be difficult to add payroll for the regular season's final 2 1/2 months. The owner suggested that the organization had allocated the majority of its budget on the players making up the Opening Day roster, but that money most likely wouldn't be a holdup in executing any transactions.

"We have a tendency to spend pretty much everything we can in the offseason. And we were successful in doing so. I don't know if it's overly different this year. If something comes up we'll make room," Henry said. "But the big deal isn't so much money as it is prospects. We can have Player X, but this is what it's going to cost [player-wise], and it usually costs something.

"I felt going into spring training this was as good a team as we've had, at least on paper, and we've been able to execute. After those first 12 games we've been the best team in Major League Baseball. Since we watch every game, every day, we're aware of every little weakness we have, and some of the weaknesses we had in the first half may not be weaknesses as much in the second half."

Asked what it was like to endure a 2-10 record to begin the season, Henry said: "Torture, for all of us. It wasn't just losing, it was how badly we were playing. But I had no doubt we would turn it around. It was was too good of a  team."

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