5 dream Red Sox trade deadline additions to fantasize about bringing to Boston

Can one trade save the Boston Red Sox? Probably not. This team has been one of the more curious successes or failures this year depending on how you want to look at it. Parts of the roster have been atrocious. Others have excelled and helped them stay right there in the thick of the American League chase for the postseason. If not for playing in baseball’s most jacked division, the Red Sox would probably feel a whole lot better than they do right now.

A lot must go right for the Red Sox to become trade deadline buyers this summer. Can they pull it off? If by the middle of July the team is playing well and in contention, any of these five dream candidates could help save the season. They don’t have to settle for just one either.

To answer your final question, Shohei Ohtani isn’t on the list because even the wildest dreams of Red Sox fans cannot conjure up a realistic scenario where he is traded to Boston this summer. Sorry. That dream will have to wait until free agency.

1) Dream Red Sox trade deadline addition: Cody Bellinger

There is only one bat on this list. The Red Sox don’t need a whole lot more punch to their lineup. If there is one glaring hole on the roster right now it’s at first base.

But Cody Bellinger doesn’t play first base. Well, he has in the past. He can provide the Red Sox with plenty of starts there and in the outfield as well.

This is a list of dream trade candidates so picking up Josh Bell from the Cleveland Guardians or Bellinger’s Chicago Cubs teammate Trey Mancini doesn’t exactly fit. There are expected to be a surprisingly low number of quality first basemen available at this year’s trade deadline. The Red Sox would need to get creative if a boost at this position is something they need.

Bellinger is currently on the IL and will need to return to the Cubs and continue to produce in order to become someone worth trading for. With a mutual option for next year as well, maybe a reunion with Enrique Hernandez, Justin Turner, and Kenley Jansen will help convince him to stick around—as long as he’s playing well.

2) Dream Red Sox trade deadline addition: Josh Hader

While we’re mentioning Kenley Jansen, let’s talk about the work he has done for the Red Sox. It has been okay. He’s at the point of his career where falling off a cliff is equally as possible as it would be for him to play the escape artist aging closer who somehow finishes the year with good numbers but those who have watched him closely know better. Signed through next season as well, the Red Sox probably have their closer in place.

This won’t stop us from dreaming of a Josh Hader rental. The San Diego Padres have been brutal this season. Hader is one of the few actually performing well ahead of his first trip to free agency.

The Padres are probably a team that’ll fight to the bitter end to turn their season around. With as much money as they’ve invested into the roster, the embarrassment of punting too early and trading a guy like Hader out of their bullpen would be too much to bear. For all of the frustrations Red Sox fans may have, it’s multiplied for those who cheer on the Padres. They don’t have any World Series wins to hang their hats on or brag about. This year was one where they seemed destined to end the drought. Maybe not.

Putting Hader in the ninth or having a closer-by-committee or having him as a setup man for Jansen would turn the questionable Boston bullpen into an elite squad. It’ll take a big swing to land him. The results can be messy. In this dream trade scenario, it all works out perfectly.

3) Dream Red Sox trade deadline addition: Marcus Stroman

Marcus Stroman is probably one of the better trade chips available this year. The Cubs starter is in what could be the final year of his stint with Chicago thanks to an opt out after the season is over. This actually benefits the Red Sox a little more if they were the ones willing to pay the price to acquire him. The Cubs are only going to get back the kind of return a rental would.

The worst-kept secret in baseball is how bad the Red Sox starting staff has been. Corey Kluber was already nixed from the rotation. Chris Sale has shown flashes of his old self but the trust with him is still limited. If the Red Sox want any shot at saving their season, they’re going to need to pull off a deal for a big starting pitcher.

Stroman’s recent one-hitter against the Tampa Bay Rays in a 1-0 game was a perfect example of what the Red Sox could be getting if they were to snatch him via trade. Familiar with him from his days with the Toronto Blue Jays, one unanswered question with him is how well he’ll perform in the postseason. He hasn’t been there since 2016.

Many teams will be bidding for Stroman’s services this summer. The Red Sox, possibly competing with some of their AL East rivals, would feel a lot different if they came out on top in the sweepstakes.

4) Dream Red Sox trade deadline candidate: Eduardo Rodriguez

Let’s go romantic. The first six seasons of Eduardo Rodriguez’s career was spent with the Red Sox. Through some lean years and some much better ones, he entered free agency after the 2021 campaign riding high. It earned him a five-year contract worth $77 million. Not too shabby for a guy who owned a career 4.16 ERA at the time.

Rodriguez is now with the Detroit Tigers, albeit currently on the IL, where he has gone 4-4 with a 2.13 ERA in 11 starts. If not for the player option on his contract this year, he’d probably remain in Detroit as they look to build around him. Since he has pitched so well this year, only an unhealthy remainder of the 2023 season may be enough to convince him to opt-out.

What does this have to do with the Red Sox? Like Stroman, the Tigers may need to curb their expectations for what they can get back for him. He may be nothing more than a rental. He could become a payroll burden. Either way, he’s the kind of pitcher the Red Sox can afford in a trade without having to sell the farm.

Rodriguez may be a case of a guy developing a little later than expected. It’s not unusual to see a starting pitcher wait until he hits his 30s to become a real ace. It’s what Rodriguez had looked like this season prior to landing on the IL. Reunions can always be dreamy. This one could definitely give the Red Sox a much-needed upgrade in the rotation.