3 days ago
ESPN names ‘best fits' for Red Sox ahead of MLB trade deadline
The MLB trade deadline is 10 days away and the Boston Red Sox have made it clear they want to bolster their roster.
How they end up doing that remains unclear, but ESPN's Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel tabbed eight players as 'best fits' for Boston.
Here are the candidates:
No. 4: Sandy Alcantara, starting pitcher for Miami Marlins (No. 3 last time)
No. 8: Kris Bubic, starting pitcher for Kansas City Royals (new)
No. 11: Mitch Keller, starting pitcher for Pittsburgh Pirates
No. 13: Merrill Kelly, starting pitcher for Arizona Diamondbacks
No. 14: Josh Naylor, first baseman for Arizona Diamondbacks
No. 15: Ryan O'Hearn, first baseman for Baltimore Orioles
No. 17: Taj Bradley, starting pitcher for Tampa Bay Rays
No. 18: Edward Cabrera, starting pitcher for Miami Marlins
The Red Sox could certainly be in the market for a first baseman after Triston Casas suffered a ruptured patellar tendon that will sideline him for the remainder of the season. The corner position has been an issue since Casas' injury between lack of depth and Rafael Devers' — who was ultimately traded to the San Francisco Giants — unwillingness to move to first.
And while Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro have filled in fine at first since Casas' injury, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said the Red Sox will be "open-minded about the opportunities to bring in a bat that can play first base."
The Red Sox would also benefit from adding pitching helping — both starters and relievers after losing Hunter Dobbins for the year due to a torn ACL and Tanner Houck remaining on the injured list after his rehab assignment. Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello have shown signs of improvement, but starters not named Garrett Crochet have struggled to find a consistent groove.
Boston is in a Wild Card position and is looking to return to the postseason for the first time since 2021. It's an important deadline for Breslow, who's been adamant about improving the team come the July 31 deadline.
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Read the original article on MassLive.
