Three Trades

Well the Red Sox are throwing down the gauntlet to even the most skeptical among us. This may not be a great team but they ARE in playoff contention and you don’t sit back and wait in years where that happens.  At the same time I think most Sox fans want the right mix of going for it and not giving up the future.  That should probably create a bit of a challenge for GM Chaim Bloom and his merry band of number crunchers as July 31 approaches.  There is still a pretty sizable part of me that thinks the best thing the Sox can do is just sit tight and dance with who brung ‘em.  But let’s consider some possible options if they do NOT do that.

First things first though is the basic question of “what do the Sox need?”  Well for my money there are three key areas where the Sox need some help;

- another reliable reliever - someone that can lock down the innings that in a perfect world John Schreiber would have been locking down.
- a front-ish of the rotation starter - the last two World Series titles featured Nathan Eovaldi and Jake Peavy as midseason acquisitions.  Something along those lines.
- a middle infielder - either shortstop or second base in the hopes that by the middle of next month Trevor Story is occupying the spot this guy doesn’t play.

So here are three proposals.  As always the idea here is to look at what the Sox might need to surrender to fill these holes;

Red Sox get: David Robertson
Mets get: Wilyer Abreu, David Hamilton

Why it works: Robertson is a one year guy so the Mets have no particular incentive to keep him around.  Abreu is the prize here, he’s a decent near-MLB ready outfielder that can almost certainly replicate the performance of either Sterling Marte or Daniel Vogelbach.  Adding Hamilton in gives the Mets a bit of needed athleticism on a team that seems to be lacking it.

Could it happen: Yeah I think this is feasible.  I think the issue here is if the Sox are higher on Abreu than I am.

Red Sox get: Ha-Seong Kim
Padres get: Nick Yorke, Roman Anthony, Mikey Romero

Why it works: This season has jumped right past the handbasket and through the gates of hell on the Padres.  Kim is an extremely good player though it’s fair to question if that gaudy WAR is artificially inflated by his defense though his defense is excellent.  Kim/Story up the middle would be an awfully good mix going into next season (Kim is signed through next year).  The Padres get some talent here with Yorke and Anthony both top 100 picks (Baseball America “promoted” Anthony last week) and Romero is the 2022 first rounder who is off to a good start in his career.

Could it happen: I don’t think so.  I suspect the Padres are looking for someone a bit more certain than any of these three prospects for Kim.  If you told me one of these three guys will turn into a good MLB player I’d take that action, if you asked me to say which of them will with any confidence I would not be able too.

Red Sox get: Lucas Giolito
White Sox get: Shane Drohan, Chase Meidroth, Byran Mata

Why it works: The White Sox are doing their best to rehabilitate damage done to Tony LaRussa’s reputation by demonstrating fairly conclusively that last season wasn’t the manager’s fault (only).  Giolito is a free agent at the end of the year and Drohan and Meidroth are relatively close to being MLB ready while Mata is a lottery ticket.  The likelihood of him becoming something has to be heavily questioned as his right arm is made of glass but when he’s right he’s electric.

Could it happen: Not sure here.  I honestly don’t love this deal for either side.  I’m not sure I’m sold on Giolito.but at the same time I wouldn’t be shocked if the White Sox can do considerably better here.

Other Thoughts:

- I’ve loved what Jarren Duran has done this year but he has a .425 BABIP.  I think he’s going to be a good MLB player moving forward but if the Sox have a chance to make a splash of some sort I’d be cool with making Duvall the everyday centerfielder and moving Duran.  I think this becomes relevant if the Sox get a chance to do what we saw last year with guys like Jose Berrios and Luis Castillo moved. 

- It ain’t going to be Shohei Ohtani.  I’d give up the world for him though.

- For my money Meidroth, Anthony and Drohan are the guys most likely to get moved.  They are good enough to get something in return but not so good that the Sox would not want to deal them.

- I do not really expect the Sox to do anything big.  I think Miguel Bleis getting hurt really puts the squeeze on that.  Had Bleis stayed healthy the Sox potentially would have been looking at two top 50 prospects in him and Marcelo Mayer and maybe they decide to move one and keep one (e.g. Yoan Moncada or Rafael Devers in the Chris Sale trade).