Ranking the 5 best starting pitchers the Red Sox should target at the trade deadline

2) Red Sox trade deadline target: Tigers pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez

The last two players are recognizable for Red Sox fans because they played in the division for years, but what about a former Red Sox player? Eduardo Rodriguez played six years in Boston and had some very memorable moments for the team.

He signed a five-year deal with the Tigers worth $77 million prior to the 2022 season and has had a strange tenure with the Tigers. The 2022 season was a lost one for both the team and the player as Rodriguez made just 17 starts, missing a substantial amount of time for personal reasons.

He's flipped the switch this season, posting a 2.69 ERA in 14 starts and 83.2 innings pitched. He missed over a month with injury, but has been dominant when on the bump for Detroit. He's allowed three earned runs or fewer in all but two of his starts. Boston could really use that kind of consistency.

Of all of the pitchers on this list, E-Rod is the least likely to be available. The Tigers, while being eight games under .500, are only 6.5 games out of first place in the abysmal AL Central so it's unclear whether Detroit will actually sell. If they do, you have to imagine Rodriguez will be available. He does have three years left on his deal at a $49 million total figure, but he has an opt-out at the end of this season which he will surely exercise the way things are going.

We know Rodriguez can pitch in Boston, and Chaim Bloom has the chance to right the wrong he made by letting him walk, to begin with. It makes too much sense.