2) Red Sox should call the Brewers about a win-now trade for both teams
The Milwaukee Brewers may be the best match for the Red Sox in some sort of outfielder for starting pitcher swap. They’re a team that has competed for a few seasons now on the backs of their starting pitchers. The offense has been up and down from year to year. Now a game behind the Cincinnati Reds, we should expect them to do whatever they can to overtake one of baseball’s most pleasant surprises of the second half.
The Brewers have several different options for the Red Sox to choose from. Ace Corbin Burnes isn’t having a spectacular year and would come at a higher cost than Verdugo or Duvall. Wade Miley has shown himself to be injury prone in recent years while Julio Teheran’s resurgence in Milwaukee this year is too “out of nowhere” to pay a high price for and yet completely realistic.
Teheran is 2-3 with a 3.64 ERA in 8 starts for the Brewers. A pure rental for the Red Sox, he’d probably be as much of a wild card in Boston as Duvall would be in Milwaukee.
The outfield situation in Milwaukee has Christian Yelich playing well but light on power in left field, Joey Wiemer doing nothing but hitting for power in center field, and Blake Perkins over in right field not doing much at all. They do have Jesse Winker playing mostly DH. He has only one home run and a .200 batting average. He’s a DFA candidate at a spot in the Milwaukee lineup they’ve been desperate to fill all season.
Duvall’s ability to play all three outfield positions would help the Brewers upgrade their lineup. The subtraction of Teheran wouldn’t be substantial enough.
Take your pick. Duvall for Teheran or Miley, a veteran lefty renal who is 6-2 with a 3.06 ERA this season. He might be the better gamble. Just cross your fingers he stays off the IL.