After a frustratingly inactive offseason, the Boston Red Sox find themselves at a surprising 17-13 on the season and just 2.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East.
Primarily, it’s the pitching that has lifted up Alex Cora’s squad. Tanner Houck (1.60), Kutter Crawford (1.35), Garrett Whitlock (1.96) Cooper Criswell (1.65) and Nick Pivetta (0.82) all boast ERAs under 2.00 through 30 games. That rotation seems to be legit despite Brayan Bello joining Whitlock and Pivetta on the injured list.
We now have some more information regarding Boston’s plans leading up to the July 30 MLB trade deadline.
According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (h/t Bleacher Report), Boston is expected to be buyers ahead of the trade deadline.
Of course, this is all dependent on how the next few months play out for the ‘Sox. They headed into Wednesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants having won three consecutive games. That included a shutout of the Giants behind Criswell on Tuesday.
Despite some injury concerns with their pitching staff, the Red Sox might be set there. Perhaps, front office head Craig Breslow looks to make a splash in the rotation. But adding another mid-tier arm doesn’t seem to make much sense with how the starters are performing thus far. Though, there is one intriguing option.
Instead, the focus could be on a Boston lineup that surprisingly ranks in the top 10 of MLB in batting average. That’s especially true with free agent bust Trevor Story lost for the season.
Related: Latest MLB trade rumors
Boston Red Sox trade targets ahead of the MLB trade deadline
Below, we check in on three potential targets for the Red Sox as they look to compete with the likes of the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East moving forward.
Luis Robert, Chicago White Sox
Robert has been sidelined since early April due to a hip injury. The expectation is that the 26-year-old centerfielder will be back at some point soon. It could be perfect timing for the Red Sox to pull off a trade. Robert remains under team control through at least the 2026 season.
He put up an All-Star performance for the White Sox last season, hitting .264 with 38 homers and 80 RBI. The youngster’s bat finally caught up to his fielding. With Chicago in the midst of a disastrous start to the season, it could very well look to move Robert. Ceddanne Rafaela has struggled hitting this season, posting a .186 average. This move would make the youngster a utility option moving forward.
Related: Boston Red Sox standing in Sportsnaut’s MLB power rankings
Paul Blackburn, Oakland Athletics
If the Red Sox wanted to make an addition to their rotation, Blackburn would be a nice buy-low option. The veteran started this season by giving up zero earned runs in his first two starts. He has since struggled a tad (13 earned runs past three starts).
But we’re talking about a former All-Star that has shown well for an otherwise bad A’s team. He’s pitched to a 1.09 WHIP while striking out three times more batters than he’s walked this season. The only question here is whether Boston thinks he’d be a major upgrade over what the team currently has.
Pete Alonso, New York Mets
Big-market teams will obviously be interested in this impending free agent should the Mets put him up for sale. The Red Sox are no different. Triston Casas is currently on the 60-day injured list with a rib issue. There is no telling when he’s going to return. Boston just signed veteran Garrett Cooper and has been employing Bobby Dalbec (.136 average this season) as a part-time first baseman.
Acquiring Alonso would not come cheap. It would also be a risk with him currently in a contract year. But this would certainly be a way for the Boston Red Sox to excite their fan base.