We knew the Boston Red Sox were facing tremendous odds in their quest to get back into the race. Despite winning 10 of 15 games before the All-Star break the Sox begin the unofficial second half needing to play at least that well for the next couple of weeks if they wanted to keep any sort of pressure on the teams ahead of them in the standings.

They didn’t. They lost the first three games of the series in Anaheim, scoring just a single run in a 11-1 drubbing in the first game of a doubleheader Monday. That made it five losses in six games going back to the Yankee series before the break, cementing the Sox even more firmly in the basement of the AL East.

They have no one to blame but themselves. This team dug itself too deep a hole in May. There was no room to stumble, no margin for error.

Now, with the nonwaiver trade deadline less than two weeks away, it’s time for the organization to start thinking about moves that can help them in the long term. It would be foolish to trade prospects for a player or pitcher in the hopes of improving this season. Any trades made by GM Ben Cherington have to be made with an eye toward becoming a team that can contend every year.

That’s what we’ve come to expect in Boston, but with the notable exception of a 2013 championship the Red Sox have become a team that can’t seem to assemble a playoff-caliber roster. The Sox have finished last in two of the last three years, and there’s a very real possibility that the 2015 team will make it 3 of 4.

Cherington will need to figure out a way to get the pitching staff back in order. He has signed Rick Porcello and Wade Miley to long-term contracts. One has the highest ERA of any starter in the AL, the other has shown flashes of brilliance but has been inconsistent.

Clay Buchholz, the most tradable arm in the rotation, is on the disabled list again. On Wednesday he will visit Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his pitching elbow.

We’ve seen Eduardo Rodriguez impress at times at the age of 22, and we will get to see Brian Johnson Tuesday night in Houston. Both were pitching in Portland just a year ago.

Henry Owens, at Triple-A Pawtucket, is the next arm on the horizon. He may get his chance soon enough.

Rodriguez, at times, has shown us that young pitchers can succeed in Boston. We’ll see if Johnson and Owens follow suit. In the field, Xander Bogaerts and Mookie Betts have come into their own. Their best seasons should be ahead of them.

If Cherington is active at the deadline, it will have to be for other young players who can join those players as building blocks for the future. Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa are the type of relievers that contending teams would covet. Both should be offered for the right deal.

Last year reliever Andrew Miller was traded to Baltimore for Rodriguez. That was a good move. Cherington will have to make more in the coming days.

This isn’t about management waving a white flag on the season. The reality is that the Sox began the week seven games under .500. This roster isn’t a complete disaster, but it needs to be bolstered so the Red Sox can once again be a team that isn’t looking up at the rest of the division.

Tom Caron is the studio host for the Red Sox broadcast on NESN. His column appears in the Portland Press Herald on Tuesdays.