Boston Red Sox trade target: Alex Gordon
By Rick McNair
The Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals are two teams that are underperforming at this juncture. KC was picked by some, including myself, to win their division. Both the Red Sox and Royals have needs, and where needs meet are potential trade scenarios.
Alex Gordon has long been a favorite of mine. A very dependable left-handed bat most noted for hammering line-drives and feasting on Red Sox pitching. Gordon has hit Boston for a slash line of .359/.435/.614, but at Fenway Park that bumps up to .386/.463/.647 and he is a doubles machine.
Gordon started out as a third baseman and by 2011 became firmly entrenched in left field. As far as his defensive capabilities, Gordon has a nice string of Gold Glove Awards attached to his résumé and metrics back up the fact that Gordon is a defensive plus.
Boston needs some punch in the lineup and Gordon could be one part of it. Left field is available.
Luke Hochevar is gone for the season, putting a dent into the Kansas City Royals rotation. Dependable right-hander James Shields is ready to head into the free agent market, so another dent appears down the road for KC. They need pitching. Everyone seems to need pitching. What would it take to pry Gordon loose?
The short answer is plenty.
First up, my choice would be Clay Buchholz. Buchholz has a 2-1 record with an ERA of 3.06 at Kauffman – not much of a sample, but when you examine Buchholz’ career road/home splits they virtually mirror each other. On the ever-important money side, both are close to a contractual wash, although Buchholz will run a year longer (2017) on his contract.
May 25, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz (11) in the dugout against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
For Boston there is a hole created in the rotation, but the prospect mill at Pawtucket has several who, no doubt, are tantalizingly close to a return — Brandon Workman, Allen Webster, Rubby De La Rosa, Matt Barnes and even Chris Capuano with the big club. The void could be filled.
For KC that means the potential of Jarrod Dyson, a real blazer, getting some serious duty. The Sox would have to sweeten up the deal by adding Bryce Brentz to the package, a potential power bat that needs a shot, especially with Billy Butler not doing much in the power department. The Sox could also add a prospect to the package to further entice KC and that could be a “pick ‘em” from the collection at Pawtucket. The Sox would certainly need to add more to a package with the disappointing Buchholz. Would Barnes or Anthony Ranaudo seal it up?