Last year around this time Red Sox Senior VP of Baseball Operations Frank Wren was scouting Eduardo Nunez in San Francisco. Could a deal be on the horizon?
Red Sox senior Vice President of Baseball Operations Frank Wren is in Kansas City this weekend scouting talent. When Frank Wren is somewhere scouting talent, Dombrowski is in discussions on someone. Despite a league best 69-30 record, this Red Sox team has some significant flaws and needs to make some moves before the deadline. They have already signaled their willingness to go past the $237M final threshold and incur the heaviest penalties under the current CBA.
That means payroll won’t be a limiting factor over the next week or so. And it likely means they don’t have to pick one area to fix while hoping the rest gets fixed internally. So who would the Red Sox be targeting in this instance? Well, there are a number of possibilities, given the team’s needs.
The needs…
The bullpen has been in need of an upgrade since the winter. Matt Barnes and Joe Kelly have, thankfully, alternated periods of dominance so far. But neither can be trusted in a big spot in October because both are prone to mental lapses where they completely lose the zone. Carson Smith is out for another year with a shoulder injury. And Tyler Thornburg, recently back from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery, has not found his dominance again.
Dustin Pedroia‘s return was brief and his season is now in doubt. And Brock Holt suffered a bruised knee in last night’s game, further depleting second base depth. Eduardo Nunez has not repeated his excellent stint with the Red Sox from 2017. So he’s not the answer either.
The starting rotation has sprung a leak as well. Eduardo Rodriguez just landed back on the DL with a bad ankle sprain. Steven Wright is also back on the DL. Drew Pomeranz is trying to come back from biceps tendinitis and has struggled all year. So the team could be looking for anything. Here are some names that might pop up in rumors: