The Boston Red Sox are looking to acquire a starting-caliber third baseman and bullpen help before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, but are not willing to part with their top prospects in order to make a deal happen, according to ESPN's Scott Lauber.
Major-league source familiar with Red Sox's thinking: "Don't see them shipping off top-tier guys" to fill needs at third base, bullpen.
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) July 17, 2017
Boston reportedly "ramped up" their efforts to try and land Todd Frazier this past weekend, Boston has now expanded their search at third base to six new players. Chief among those options are Asdrubal Cabrera and T.J. Rivera of the New York Mets, according to SB Nation's Whitney McIntosh:
The Red Sox need a third baseman badly, and are thirstier about it than Clint Eastwood being dragged through the desert in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. They’ve been very public about this need, targeting Todd Frazier of the White Sox for the most part but also being open to other options should that plan fall through. They’re sitting with the just-back-from-injury Brock Holt at third for the time being after cycling through Tzu-Wei Lin and Deven Marrero in his absence, and it’s been a catastrophe. They need help.
Both Cabrera and Rivera offer flexibility at the position after this season, as neither of them are bogged down with unmanageable contracts. Cabrera only has an $8.5 million option for next year remaining on his contract which would be a great rental situation for the Sox as they wait for Rafael Devers to stop impressing everyone in the minors and come tear up the big leagues. However, Cabrera has also only played one game at third in his career and isn’t the defenseman he used to be.
Rivera is younger, hitting the ball impressively, and is more of a utility player than Cabrera. But as mentioned, his rookie status is too attractive for the Mets to hand him over without something big in return. Cabrera can get the Sox to Rafael Devers-land without saddling them with a huge contract or a multi-year commitment, while also helping them stay in first place in the division with his much-needed offense.
The Red Sox are extremely high on Devers, their top prospect who was recently promoted to Triple-A and some thought he would get the called up to the majors after they designated Pablo Sandoval for assignment.
However, general manager Dave Dombrowski said they have no plans to do that, but he will be in the majors sooner rather than later. Boston doesn't want to give up valuable assets for a starting third baseman when Revers is going to take over the role in the foreseeable future.
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