Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow shared that he’s on the lookout for a starting pitcher and temporary shortstop to bolster his ballclub.
Boston’s starting pitching was excellent to begin the season and its rotation owned the best starter ERA well into May. In June, though, Red Sox pitchers, besides Tanner Houck, have allowed significantly more runs.
The Sox’s infield defense has struggled since Trevor Story’s season-ending injury on April 5. Boston has made the most errors in MLB and allowed a staggering 45 unearned runs through 69 games.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic named some trade candidates for the Red Sox’s needs. Some of them aren’t the most realistic.
Jesús Luzardo of the Marlins and Garrett Crochet of the White Sox have been popular names in deadline predictions. Both of their ballclubs are in dire straights, and all players seem to be on the table.
Luzardo isn’t having his best season — his ERA is 5.11 through 61.2 innings — but the young lefty could present a good opportunity for the Red Sox. Andrew Bailey has worked miracles on some of Boston’s current pitchers and Luzardo could be no different.
Crochet is 24 years old and he’s been one of Chicago’s best pitchers. The lefty has logged a 3.16 ERA through 82.2 innings. He has the best fastball run value in MLB and he’s posted a league-high 116 strikeouts. Crochet will likely be hotly coveted among contending teams in the hunt for starting pitching, and the odds the Red Sox end up with him are slim.
The same goes for veteran lefty Tyler Anderson. He has a 2.63 ERA through 82 innings of work, and his numbers this season rival those of his 2022 campaign, the best of his career. Anderson walks batters at a high clip, though, and he’s posted 33 walks to 53 strikeouts.The A’s are shopping JP Sears, who may be a fine fit for Boston. He has a 4.02 ERA in 78.1 frames. He hasn’t collected many strikeouts, but he also doesn’t walk as many batters as Anderson.
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