Fresh off a dominating first half of the season, the Boston Red Sox continued their winning ways with a 4-0 victory over the New York Yankees last night to kick off a promising second half of the season. In a season where a lot has gone right, nothing has been sweeter then Boston’s 7-0 record against the Yankees so far this season.
Another reason for excitement this series was the promotions of Jarren Duran and Tanner Houck. While Duran will make his debut tonight, Houck was fantastic last night, going three innings in relief while picking up a save in the process.
While these two promotions could deter the Sox from making more moves than anticipated at the trade deadline, it would be foolish for Boston to put all their eggs in one basket. There are still some holes that need filling on this roster, and the trade deadline is the ideal place to patch them up.
One team that appears set to be heading into the deadline as a seller is the Texas Rangers. Sitting 20 games out of first place in the AL West, it would be a good idea for Texas to try to get some prospects in return for some of their top players. Let’s take a look at three players the Boston Red Sox could look to snag from the Rangers at the trade deadline.
Boston Red Sox Trade Target No. 3: Ian Kennedy
Ian Kennedy has turned himself into a jack-of-all-trades in the latter stage of his career. Kennedy was a solid innings eater as a starter for most of his career, but then found himself closing games for the Kansas City Royals during the 2019 season, posting a 30 save season. Kennedy has found himself in the bullpen since then, and has turned himself into quite a reliable closer for the Rangers this season.
As was the case for many players last season, Kennedy struggled in 2020 with the Royals, leading to the Rangers to snatch him up in free agency this offseason. After posting an awful 9.00 ERA last season, Kennedy has found his groove this season on a pretty bad Rangers team.
Kennedy has posted a 2.67 ERA and picked up 15 saves so far this season. His pitching style is more to contact rather than a pure strikeout pitcher at this point, but Kennedy does a great job at keeping the bases empty. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is 4.57 this season, which is the highest it has been throughout the entirety of his 14 year career.
At 36 years old, Kennedy would come in as a rental for the Sox at this point. But he offers the potential to be a great option in the backend of the bullpen, and you can’t have enough of those, especially when the playoffs roll around. Guys like Josh Taylor and Garrett Whitlock have been superb so far, but will that keep up in the playoffs?
The good news is that Kennedy would likely only cost a low level prospect or two considering his situation. He’s a veteran who has something to offer for a playoff team like Boston, and Texas would be wise to cash in while they can. Bullpen arms are at a premium nowadays, so the Sox would be wise to pick up Kennedy while they can.
Boston Red Sox Trade Target No. 2: Joey Gallo
Joey Gallo is an old school power hitter. His batting average doesn’t sit too high above .200, but the balls he puts into play usually don’t stay in the park. He’s basically a better version of what the Sox expected Hunter Renfroe to be, except Renfroe is hitting for average this season.
After struggling to get any action his first two seasons, Gallo was handed a starting role in 2017 and promptly smacked 41 home runs as a result, before following that up with another 40 homer season in 2018. Gallo missed much of 2019 with injuries before struggling for most of 2020. But Gallo is back to his old ways this season, as he’s already at 24 home runs on the season, which helped earn him a spot in the Home Run Derby.
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Gallo’s .237 batting average paints the picture of a hitter who is basically home run or bust at the plate. Yet that isn’t the case this season. Gallo’s plate disciple has taken massive strides this season, which sees him leading the majors with 72 walks at this point. So despite a lower average, Gallo has been an on-base machine for most of the season.
And despite not being the most conventional outfielder, Gallo is one of the best in the game. He didn’t commit a single error in the field last season, and earned his first golden glove as a result. Similar to Renfroe, he has a cannon for an arm, but doesn’t get to test it as much due to baserunners being scared to run on him.
Adding Gallo to the Sox outfield would turn an already solid unit into arguably one of the best in the league. Sure, they just promoted Duran, but that doesn’t mean they should be counting on him for consistent production. Gallo is a proven slugger who can launch one out of the park at any given time; Duran isn’t.
Gallo is still just 27, meaning Boston could be making a longer term commitment here than to other trade targets. He’s set for arbitration after this season, so the Sox would have an inside track to retain him for future seasons if they did end up acquiring him.
There are probably cheaper rental options on the market, but Gallo’s upside makes him an appealing target for this season and future seasons. He will cost more, but he would be the type of option that is worth forking over more valuable prospects. The Sox seem set to make a splash at the deadline, and Gallo may very well be their target.
Boston Red Sox Trade Target No. 1: Kyle Gibson
Even Kyle Gibson probably couldn’t have envisioned his 2021 season going the way it’s gone so far. After eight seasons of inconsistency, Gibson seems to have finally put everything together, and is firmly in the conversation for American League Cy Young.
After three seasons where he sported an ERA above five, including last year, Gibson has looked like a completely different pitcher this season. He’s only managed to pick up one loss on a pretty awful Rangers team, and leads the American League with a sparkling 2.29 ERA. It’s been a remarkable turnaround that has flown under the radar due to the Rangers ineptitude for most of the year.
Gibson’s track record of struggles may throw teams off, as there’s really no reason anyone would have expected him to emerge into one of the top pitchers in baseball this season. Not to mention he is already 33 years old, so even if his success isn’t short-lived, he probably doesn’t have many seasons left in him.
Realistically, many teams will trust Gibson’s season-long success, and get in on the bidding for the Rangers ace. Aside from maybe Max Scherzer, there aren’t many better options on the trade market. Plus, Gibson still has a year left on his contract, so he wouldn’t necessarily qualify as a season-long rental.
It’s starting to become more and more likely that Boston is in the market for a starting pitcher at the trade deadline. Eduardo Rodriguez has been struggling for most of the season, and Garrett Richards and Martin Perez seem to be trading good starts with bad ones at this point. Having an extra layer of depth would be a welcome sight in the rotation.
Ultimately, the Sox may bank on Chris Sale coming back from his injury to fill that role. But banking on a guy who hasn’t pitched in 15 months seems like risky business, especially considering how good Boston has been so far. If they really want to shore up the position, it’s more than likely Gibson would be available for the Boston Red Sox taking.