Los Yankees ofrecen $72 millones por un pitcher en una propuesta de intercambio.
Boston is now 0.5 games out of the A.L. wild-card chase following Tuesday’s victory over the Marlins in what might very well be considered a must-win series as the Red Sox get closer to the July 30 MLB trade deadline. Past Kansas City. They trail the Twins by two games for the second wild card and the Yankees by seven games for the first.
The Red Sox trail the Orioles by 8.0 games in the A.L. East, which is a very unlikely deficit to overcome but not insurmountable. According to FanGraphs, the Carmines have a 35.0% chance of making the playoffs and a 1.4% likelihood of the Red Sox winning the World Series.
How baseball handles its impending swap meet will depend in part on those odds, or whatever Jersey Street is calling those days. Furthermore, a different approach seems appropriate for the Red Sox, a team whose roster has gelled nicely and seems to be built around a core group going forward: bringing in a rental player to cover a short-term need in exchange for a player who wouldn’t come at a significant cost to the team in terms of prospects and young talent.
In light of this, Chris Cotillo of MassLive suggested on the “Fenway Rundown” podcast this week that the Red Sox could acquire Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty in an intriguing trade.
Jack Flaherty is a Dependable Short-Term Rental
Flaherty’s one-year contract worth $14 million is his last one before free agency begins the following year. According to Bleacher Report, he should be worth a $72 million, four-year contract. The Red Sox will probably pass on that, but he might be worth it if they can trade for him to finish out this year’s postseason run as a rotation filler.
The Red Sox would trade less promising prospects for players who could contribute right away in order to preserve their core.
This is how Cotillo phrased it:
“I believe that rentals make sense for a squad like this. Suddenly, you are thinking about ways to improve this squad without sacrificing any of its essence. Perhaps you should go acquire Jack Flaherty in exchange for Nick Yorke and another prospect. They will demand the Big Three if you go after (Garrett) Crochet or one of these elite players who may be available on the trade market.
“Adding those kinds of players is going to be difficult. I do believe that renting makes sense right now.
Red Sox Top Prospects Kyle Teel, Marcelo Mayer, and Roman Anthony Not Open to Trades
The Top 3 Red Sox prospects are known as the “Big Three”: catcher Kyle Teel (.298,.846 at Portland), outfielder Roman Anthony (.244,.804 OPS at Portland), and infielder Marcelo Mayer (.307,.851 OPS at Double A Portland). Together with players that are already on the big league roster, such as outfielder/infielder Ceddanne Rafaela and first baseman Tristan Casas, all of them are regarded as future starters for the Red Sox.
According to Cotillo, second baseman Kristian Campbell, the Red Sox’s fourth-round pick in 2023, who is hitting.398 since being called up to Portland, might also be included in that group.
To improve the team’s chances of making the playoffs, Yorke, a 22-year-old who is hitting.348 at Triple A Worcester, might be moved for a reasonable price. Flaherty is worth the investment. Despite a patchy history of injuries, he has a 1.000 WHIP, 3.24 ERA, and 115 strikeouts in 89 innings this season, going 5-5.
It’s still important to keep an eye on Flaherty, who will be pulled for his upcoming game due to a back ailment after giving up five runs in his previous game following three consecutive shutout starts.
However, the Red Sox would probably be more interested in Flaherty if he returns to health than with a top starter like the White Sox’s Crochet.
“I don’t think they’ll be interested in anybody you consider to be the best starting pitcher available, and there won’t be many of them. Pitching will cost even more at the beginning than it does at the deadline. That kind of bidding war is not going to happen,” Cotillo’s pod colleague and seasoned Sox writer Sean McAdam stated.
“We’ll have to see what that gets them.”
