Blake Treinen, RP – Oakland Athletics
This might be out of the Red Sox price range, though you never know with Billy Beane. He did trade Josh Donaldson’s arbitration years for Kendall Graveman and Brett Lawrie. That said, Blake Treinen is only in his first arbitration-eligible season and is likely not going to come cheap. The Athletics have no real need to trade him, so a bit of an overpay might be necessary. And that leads to the question: Is Blake Treinen worth overpaying for? He has been outstanding so far this season with a 1.03 ERA and a 30.7% strikeout rate. But he’s just one season removed from a 3.93 ERA.
Treinen, like Melancon, has added value to the Red Sox because of those years of control. Having an internal option for replacing current closer Craig Kimbrel would take a lot of the stress out of the coming winter. At 29, there is some risk that his step forward this season is a bit of a mirage. But even if he reverts back to his 2017 form, he adds another solid arm to the late-inning mix.
Jeurys Familia, RP – New York Mets
For the most part, Jeurys Familia has been one of the most consistently dominant closers in baseball since cracking the big league roster permanently in 2014. Of course, 2017 is the lone exception, which raises some flags. He required surgery last May to remove a blood clot in his throwing shoulder. By all accounts that surgery was a success. And while he did spend some time on the DL earlier this month for the same shoulder, the Mets insist it is unrelated. He was activated earlier in the week.
Familia would instantly be the second best pitcher in the Red Sox bullpen. He would be the go-to arm in the 8th inning, pushing both Kelly and Barnes back into lower leverage index innings. He is a free agent at the end of the year, so the cost may not be too bad. Think in the range of what the Red Sox paid for Addison Reed last year. A prospect like Josh Ockimey and a lotto ticket may well be enough. After all, Reed fetched just three relief pitching prospects from outside the Red Sox top 10 last summer.
Honorable Mention: Zach Britton, RP – Baltimore Orioles
Zach Britton missed most of the season with a torn Achilles tendon but he’s finally back on the mound for the Orioles. Like Familia, he is on the verge of free agency, and shouldn’t cost too much. His record is well known. When he’s healthy, he’s one of the best in baseball. But he pitches for a division rival, and that may mean the Orioles only willing to entertain offers from Boston so far as they help drive up the price for another team. This would be a great get, but likely isn’t something that has even a puncher’s chance of coming to fruition.