3 Trade Ideas for Boston
Who could the Red Sox acquire to fill some of the holes and improve the roster?
The Boston Red Sox are starting to hit their stride as they are on a 6-game winning streak and are 19-14. This is a team that has holes and could use a key addition or two to put some respect to their name. The typical trend is to wait until the trade deadline approaches but I think there is no reason to wait. These games in May and June are super important and a move or two now could make a huge difference, which would make a difference later in the season. The 3 players that I identified are on teams that are playing for teams that are not going to compete so I say make a move now!
Lucas Giolito
Of the 3 players in this post, Giolito is the player that intrigues me the most. If you have not followed Giolito’s career, it’s been very up and down, but when he is on, he can be one of the best pitchers in the American League.
A former first round pick by the Washington Nationals in 2012, Giolito struggled when he broke into the show. In his first full season back in 2018, his ERA was 6.13 in 32 starts. The following season something clicked for Giolito as he quickly became one of the best pitchers in the American League. From ’19 – ’21, Giolito’s ERA was between 3.41 and 3.53 and he finished 6th, 7th, and 11th in the CY voting in consecutive seasons. Last season was a step back as he had a 4.90 ERA but he still managed to strike out 9.9 per 9 innings.
This year in a small sample size (7 starts), Giolito has a 3.67 ERA and an 8.95 K/9. Giolito pitches for the disappointing Chicago White Sox, who are shockingly 10-22 and are already 8 games back in the AL Central. Giolito would be a rental as he is a free agent at the end of the season so the cost would not be too significant.
With Giolito, I wonder if a change of scenery and getting out of the mess in Chicago would help him rediscover his ’19 – ’21 form. Acquiring a pitcher like Giolito would allow a pitcher like Houck or Whitlock to go back to the bullpen comfortably, which would add to the depth of the bullpen. The Boston rotation has a lot of question marks about durability. Giolito has been very durable over the last couple of years. In fact, since 2019, he has made the 11th most starts in baseball (103). And there’s a chance that Giolito finds his top 10 CY form and is an important piece in the Sox rotation for the final couple of months.
CJ Cron
Cron is a player that I have always wanted to see play in Fenway Park for an entire season because his swing is perfect to launch baseballs over the Monster. Cron brings a skill set that this Red Sox organization does not have besides Adam Duvall, who is recovering from a broken wrist, which is right handed power. Acquiring a player like CJ Cron would not only solve the right handed power question but also the production hole at first base.
So far this season, rookie Triston Casas has played the majority of innings at first base but he has really struggled to hit to start his big league career. In his first 55 big league games dating back to last season, Casas is hitting just .177. This season, he only has 3 home runs so it’s not like the low batting average is producing great power numbers. Casas’ main contribution to this team so far has been his ability to draw walks (17). Acquiring a player like Cron does not mean the Red Sox are giving up on Casas. It allows Boston to take some of the pressure off of Casas and if he needs to go down to AAA to keep working on things, Chaim Bloom can do that knowing he has a replacement at first.
As for Cron, his home run totals over the last 4 full season are the following:
’18: 28
’19: 24
’21: 31
’22: 28
’23: 6
Yes, Cron has benefitted from playing in Coors Field over the last couple of seasons but his power will translate, especially in Fenway Park. Adding a bat like Cron’s at first base, something that Boston hasn’t had in a long time at the position, could take the 3rd best scoring offense in all of baseball to another level. Cron is a free agent at the end of the season and is currently playing for the directionless Rockies so I don’t see why they wouldn’t be interested in moving him.
Eduardo Rodriguez
This is a name that may surprise you since E-Rod is only in his second year in the 5-year deal he signed with the Detroit Tigers. A logical question that you may be thinking is, “Why would he be available?”
The first reason is the Tigers window for competing has been pushed back. In the same off-season that they signed Rodriguez, the Tigers front office also signed Javy Baez to a massive deal (6/140) and that deal has been rough so far. There top pitching prospects, Matt Manning and Casey Mize, have dealt with significant injuries. And there top hitting prospects are not hitting (Riley Greene -.252 and Spencer Torkelson - .206). They enter today 13-17 and they are looking at 2024 and beyond. If the Red Sox took the remaining 3 and half years on Rodriguez’s deal so that the Tigers can save money for the future when they are ready to compete, would they do it? I think they would definitely listen.
With E-Rod, this is a pitcher that has proven he can pitch in Boston and lead the Sox rotation. I don’t think Rodriguez is a #1 on a division winning team but he is a solid #2-3 starter. E-Rod started 153 games for Boston in 6 seasons and had a 4.16 ERA. His 2019 season was his best season as he won 19 games with a 3.84 ERA. Rodriguez was also very successful against the AL East, an area that many of the Red Sox current pitchers have struggled. In his 77 starts against the East as a member of the Red Sox rotation, E-Rod went 29-23 with a 4.25 ERA, which is impressive against the offenses he had to face.
So far this season, Eduardo Rodriguez is 3-2 with a 1.89 ERA in 7 starts and looks like he did back in 2019. The 5-year deal may have been too much a few years ago but what about paying for E-Rod’s 31, 32, and 33 seasons? Rodriguez missed all of the 2020 season due to COVID and only threw 94 innings last year because he took time away from the game for personal matters. He may not have the same wear and tear of a 30 year-old starting pitcher.
E-Rod will be paid 49 million over the final 3 years of his deal (16.3M per year). If you are Chaim Bloom and the Boston Red Sox, wouldn’t you be interested in taking a risk on a pitcher who has proven he can be successful in Boston? I know I would.
Which of these 3 players do you think is a realistic option?
Who else do you think the Red Sox could acquire?