The Boston Red Sox dropped the middle game of their series against the Oakland A’s last night 5-2. Even with the loss they currently hold the third and final wild-card spot, they trail the Baltimore Orioles by 6.5 games in the American League East and are 4.5 games behind the New York Yankees for the top wild-card spot. The trade deadline is July 30th, so we are 19 days away, and last night Sam Kennedy made some comments that seemed like the Red Sox were going to buy with the team’s success in 2024. Today during his weekly Front Office report on WEEI he said if they were indeed going to buy then their first need is pitching because “you can never have enough pitching” Now that is the case for every team, you can expect all the teams in the hunt to be looking for pitching not just in the American League but in the National League as well, so it’s likely the Red Sox will be going up against 15 other teams if not a few more. Kennedy also said the conversations haven’t heated up yet, but they will for sure following the All-Star break. So, with that what arms could the Red Sox be in the hunt for?
RHP – Jack Flaherty – Detroit Tigers
Flaherty is a question mark on this list due to his dealing with back issues lately causing him to be bumped starts, he was supposed to pitch Tuesday but has been moved to today, and this season with the Tigers he has made 15 starts going 5-5 with a 3.24 ERA (27th in MLB), a 3.06 FIP (12th in MLB), a 1.00 WHIP (9th in MLB), and he has 115 (14th in MLB) strikeouts in 89 innings.
RHP – Nathan Eovaldi – Texas Rangers
It’s possible the Rangers aren’t going to sell with their recent stretch but if they decide to getting Eovaldi would be a smart move as he is familiar with Boston and the postseason having pitched for the Red Sox in 2018 until 2022 and making postseason appearances for them in 2018 and 2021. He also helped lead the Rangers to their World Series title. This season in 15 starts he is 6-3 with a 3.10 ERA (22nd in MLB), a 3.75 FIP, a 1.03 WHIP (13th in MLB), and 85 strikeouts in 87 innings.
LHP – Yusei Kikuchi – Toronto Blue Jays
Kikuchi would add a lefty to the Red Sox rotation that is currently all right-handed. This season in 19 starts he is 4-8 with a 4.00 ERA, a 3.59 FIP, a 1.27 WHIP, and 111 strikeouts (18th in MLB) in 101.1 innings. He faced the Red Sox back on May 15th going 4.1 innings giving up one run on six hits; he walked one and struck out nine.
LHP – Jesus Luzardo – Miami Marlins
Luzardo is hurt and isn’t expected back until August and the Red Sox were rumored to be interested in him in the offseason, with him injured now he may not cost as much. In 12 starts this season he is 3-6 with a 5.00 ERA, a 4.27 FIP, a 1.25 WHIP, and 58 strikeouts in 66.2 innings.
RHP – Erick Fedde – Chicago White Sox
Fedde has been a surprise for the struggling White Sox this season making 19 starts going 7-3 with a 2.99 ERA (18th in MLB), a 3.54 FIP (30th in MLB), a 1.13 WHIP, and 99 strikeouts in 111.1 innings (11th in MLB). He may not cost that much for the Red Sox to go out and acquire.
LHP – Tyler Anderson – Los Angeles Angels
Anderson may cost a little bit with him currently in the second year of a three-year deal, so he’d be in the rotation in 2025 as well. In 18 starts he is 8-8 with a 2.81 ERA (10th in MLB), a 4.53 FIP, a 1.18 WHIP, and 77 strikeouts in 112 innings (8th in MLB).
RHP – Cal Quantrill – Colorado Rockies
Quantrill isn’t the flashy trade, but he hasn’t pitched badly this season in 19 starts he is 6-7 with a 4.13 ERA, a 4.78 FIP, a 1.35 WHIP, and 78 strikeouts in 102.1 innings.
RHP – Frankie Montas – Cincinnati Reds
Montas struggled in 2022 and appeared in only one game in 2023, this season though he’s seemed to have a bounce-back season making 17 starts for a disappointing Reds team going 4-7 with a 4.38 ERA, a 4.81 FIP, a 1.33 WHIP, and 69 strikeouts in 84.1 innings.
Wrap Up
The Red Sox going forward before the trade deadline will face the Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and the Seattle Mariners. Four of those five series are all against playoff teams, so it’ll be time to prove it’s worth buying. The Red Sox have a plethora of options to trade without moving any of the big three, a name that continues to be mentioned that could be moved is Nick Yorke who after this season is likely blocked with Marcelo Mayer holding the shortstop position and Trevor Story under contract and likely having second base, Yorke makes sense to move especially with his recent success at Triple-A Worcester, another name is Chase Meidroth who is blocked at third base by Rafael Devers. Those two names could start a trade for a bigger name arm like Luzardo or Anderson. Nonetheless, the Red Sox if they go 7-6 or better entering their series with the Mariners will likely be buying, and the names listed above will be ones to watch.
