The MLB trade deadline on July 31st is rapidly approaching, and the trade rumors around the Boston Red Sox are starting to heat up. Boston is 48-38, but are still two games back of the AL East lead. They're in the heart of the wild card race and should be buyers at the deadline. With that in mind, here all the latest Red Sox trade rumors.
Boston the favorite to acquire Rich Hill?
Oakland's Hill is one of the top pitchers that has been made available before the trade deadline, and as Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports, the Red Sox are Hill's preferred destination.
Hill is being watched closely by teams. Every time he pitches, he draws a crowd. In a 3-1 win over the Astros Thursday in which Hill went six innings, allowed one run, and struck out 10, he drew scouts from the Red Sox, Royals, Orioles, and Blue Jays.
It’s now a question of which team will offer the most. Coming back to Boston would likely be Hill’s No. 1 choice, but he’s not saying that publicly.
Hill played for Boston from 2010-12 and for four starts in 2015. He is 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 13 starts this season.
Boston interested in Odorizzi?
Though Hill is priority No. 1 for Boston, they have expressed interest in acquiring multiple starters at the deadline. According to MLBTradeRumors, another player they're looking at is Tampa's Jake Odorizzi:
The Red Sox recently sent senior vice president of baseball operations Frank Wren – their top talent evaluator – to St. Petersburg, Fla., to observe division-rival Rays righty Jake Odorizzi. Last-place Tampa Bay is considering shopping Odorizzi, who should draw plenty of interest given his cheap salary ($520,700) and three years of arbitration eligibility remaining. The 26-year-old has compiled a 4.33 ERA, 8.49 K/9, 2.98 BB/9 in 99 2/3 frames this season. He previously combined for 337 1/3 innings of 3.74 ERA pitching and similar strikeout and walk rates from 2014-15.
Red Sox done adding bullpen pieces
Boston acquired reliever Brad Ziegler from the Diamondbacks on Saturday to add to their bullpen, and as team president Dave Dombrowski told Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald, they feel comfortable with who they have now.
“[We're] pretty well set," he said. "Kimbrel’s coming back, and then you’ve got Kimbrel, you’ve got Koji (Uehara), you’ve got (Brad) Ziegler,” Dombrowski said. “I know Taz (Junichi Tazawa) is going through a little bit of tiredness in his arm and shoulder. They don’t think it’s anything major.
“So, you’ve got the four of them going, and then (Matt) Barnes has been throwing great, (Heath) Hembree has been throwing great, our two lefties have been fine.”
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