Let’s take a look at the National League, where a few teams may be ready to throw in the towel and look to the future.
The Cincinnati Reds have a few quality young arms, but none of them will be arbitration eligible before 2018, so there is no rush to move them. If the Reds look to sell it will be bats like Jay Bruce that they look to unload. He’s having a strong season and has an affordable $13 million team option for next season before he hits free agency the following year, making him a potential short-term solution to plug in left field until Andrew Benintendi is ready for the big leagues. The Red Sox could consider him if they don’t start getting some of their injured position players back soon, but pitching is the far bigger priority.
The Philadelphia Phillies likewise aren’t going to give up their best young pitchers either. Jerad Eickhoff has been their best starter, but as one of the prizes of last year’s Cole Hamels deadline deal, he’s likely off limits. Aaron Nola looked great a month ago, but he hasn’t made it out of the fourth inning in any of his last four starts and owns a 10.42 ERA in June. Philly would probably be willing to give us Jeremy Hellickson, but is he really a significantly better option than what we have already?
The Padres are rumored to be open to trading just about anyone. They already kicked off trading season by unloading James Shields earlier this month, for which the Red Sox can only feel fortunate that they weren’t the ones to make that mistake. Drew Pomeranz would be the target here. He’s 14th in the majors with a 2.76 ERA and 7th with a 10.43 K/9 in his breakout season. He’ll be arbitration eligible next year, so the Padres may look to deal him before his price starts to go up, but the Red Sox would be able to keep him through 2019. The concern with him is his 4.0 BB/9 rate. Walks have always been an issue for Pomeranz, and while the elite strikeout rate helps offset those control issues, excessive free passes will get you in trouble in the AL East. Just ask Henry Owens.
That leaves us with the Atlanta Braves, who have been heavily tied to the Red Sox lately with rumors involving Julio Teheran. The problem is that the Braves are reluctant to move their top starter and would only do so if a team is willing to give up the type of haul typically reserved for a legitimate ace starter, when Teheran may not actually fit that profile. If the Braves do end up shopping him, he’s likely to be the best available starter on the market. While he would slot in the Red Sox rotation as a solid No. 2 or 3 starter, the price it would take may not be worth it.
Next: Staying internal for now