BOSTON -- In the aftermath of an uneventful Trade Deadline for the Red Sox in which they didn’t make a single transaction, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and manager Alex Cora started their media sessions with the same sentence.

“I’m not disappointed,” Cora said, followed by Dombrowski roughly 20 minutes later.

It was a sentiment not shared by a rabid fan base that badly wanted to see the defending World Series champions upgrade a bullpen that entered Wednesday with a 4.53 ERA, which ranked 10th in the American League and 19th in the Majors.

However, Dombrowski and Cora will both be disappointed if the Red Sox don’t pick up their level of play over the final two months of what has been an inconsistent regular season so far.

Backed by the highest payroll in the game, the Red Sox feel there is more in the current roster than they’ve currently seen.

And the inconsistency compromised Dombrowski’s willingness to make a Deadline deal due to the fact the Sox entered Wednesday's game vs. the Rays at third in the American League East, 9 1/2 games behind the first-place Yankees. They trailed the A's by two games for the second AL Wild Card spot.

“We're battling for a spot,” Dombrowski said. “Hopefully, we win a division, but as I sit here, realistically, we’re probably playing first for a Wild Card spot. I look at that a little bit differently, as far as what you're willing to do and the risk that you're willing to take.”

If the Red Sox had completed a four-game sweep of the Yankees on Sunday night and whittled the deficit in the division to seven, Dombrowski might have been more bold leading up to Wednesday. But as has so often been the case this season, the club lost some momentum just as it seemed it was getting ready to sustain some.

“It’s more a gut reaction based upon where you are at a particular point in time,” Dombrowski said. “If we were closer to first place, I would've been more open-minded with some of the other things.”

The Sox acquired a starting pitcher to fill out their rotation on July 13 in Andrew Cashner. But that ended up being the only move in this trade season for Boston. And waiver trades are no longer allowed in August, as had always been the case before this year.

This isn’t to say Dombrowski didn’t exhaust all avenues in trying to find a reliever. He just didn’t like the asking prices -- even for relievers who were more complementary in nature than, as Dombrowski put it, "back-end guys."

“We had an opportunity to make a lot of trades, if we wanted to,” Dombrowski said. “We just felt that demands for what we were going to receive, we didn't want to pay. Ultimately, it's a decision we decided to make.”

While rumors swirled that the Red Sox would acquire a closer such as Edwin Diaz, Ken Giles or Shane Greene, Dombrowski didn’t feel he was ever close to anyone of that caliber because of the acquisition cost. Only Greene was traded among that trio, going from the Tigers to the Braves.

With a payroll just below the final luxury tax threshold of $246 million and a farm system that is in the process of being rebuilt, Dombrowski didn’t have as much wiggle room as he might have in other years.

The Sox went above the final threshold en route to the World Series championship last year, but they didn’t want to be moved down 10 spots in the Draft by doing it again this year.

“I mean, our payroll is the largest in the game. It’s ample to win,” Dombrowski said. “That’s on me and on us. I’ll take me. But it’s a situation where, like last year, we went into the philosophy where we didn’t want to go above $246 [million], because as I talked about, being redundant, there’s a reason why they call them penalties. It’s not only financial, you lose 10 Draft picks.”

What the Red Sox need more than anything is for their rotation, which entered Wednesday 18th in the Majors in ERA and 17th in innings, to start performing up to its capabilities. It starts with ace Chris Sale, off to the worst start of his career. David Price has also slumped of late. This would take a big burden off the bullpen.

“We’ve got the best offensive team in the big leagues,” Cora said. “We’ve got guys in the rotation who have done it before, they have to step up, and we trust them. And we have guys in the bullpen that have to do better. That’s the bottom line.”

As for the bullpen, the Red Sox feel they have two of the best right-handers in the AL in Brandon Workman and Matt Barnes, the latter of whom is out of his midseason slump. And as Nathan Eovaldi continues to acclimate to life in the bullpen, the hope is that he turns into a dominant force.

“We think he’s just rounding into shape and will be ready,” Dombrowski said of Eovaldi. “I couldn’t find anyone else throwing 101 mph, so we think he’s a nice addition.”

Darwinzon Hernandez, Boston's No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline, has also been tremendous since his call-up two weeks ago.

Now that there is nothing coming via a trade, more consistency will be needed from the likes of Heath Hembree and Colten Brewer. There also could be some help in the form of lefty swingman Brian Johnson, who is due back from the injured list on Saturday, and Ryan Brasier, who was recently optioned to Triple-A to shake out of his slump.

The hope is that a championship-caliber roster -- one that won a championship a year ago -- will play at a top level for the remainder of the season and into the fall.

“We like our club,” Dombrowski said. “And actually, overall, we’ve been playing well for an extended time period. It’s just we have to continue to do that going forward. We feel confident in the group we have. We still have to go do it.”