MLB notes: Red Sox should be among most aggressive buyers at the trade deadline

Last year the Red Sox were buyers at the commerce deadline but even in the moment it was clear the club wasn t exactly going all in Left-hander James Paxton had just been designated for assignment by the Dodgers Catcher Danny Jansen had a sub- OPS at the time of his arrival and relievers Luis Garcia and Lucas Sims both had mid-leverage ceilings at best None were productive upon their arrival or were of any help pulling the club out of its second-half tailspin Related Articles Cubs club five homers in - bashing of Red Sox Red Sox -game win streak snapped with loss to Cubs in second half opener The road to Red Sox victories Part From win No to No Point-counterpoint Can Red Sox avoid another second half collapse this time around OBF Super Sox soaring into the second half with renewed hope This year Craig Breslow necessities to think bigger The Red Sox entered the All-Star break as the hottest club in baseball finishing the first half on a - stretch punctuated by a -game winning streak They are now firmly in the AL Wild Card picture and if things keep up it s not crazy to imagine they could contend for an AL East title too But the only way that s going to happen is if Breslow fortifies the roster and adding a couple of castoffs and lottery tickets isn t going to cut it To his credit Breslow seems to understand the situation and has taken an appropriate stance publicly Even since the Rafael Devers contract he s been adamant that the Red Sox will be buyers and in his current population comments has expressed a desire to add high-impact players who can meaningfully move the needle If he follows through then there s no reason why the Red Sox shouldn t be among the sport s bulk aggressive teams ahead of the July deadline What might that look like Here are a couple of necessities the Red Sox should address to best position themselves for a second half run A No starter The Red Sox have a legitimate ace in Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito both pitched brilliantly over the last month leading into the break All three would undoubtably be in Boston s playoff rotation but does the club have anyone else it can trust with the season on the line Walker Buehler has playoff experience but also a ERA Richard Fitts is a rookie Tanner Houck has been a mess Kyle Harrison has struggled in Triple-A and Patrick Sandoval has yet to complete his recovery from Tommy John surgery If this crew is going to reach its full prospective Breslow requirements to bring in another top tier arm A lot of speculation has surrounded Minnesota right-hander Joe Ryan who was just named an All-Star after posting a ERA in the first half Ryan would be a perfect No to pair with Crochet at the top of the rotation and he also has two years of gang control remaining beyond this year potentially making him a building block for the future as well The downside to that is the Twins would no doubt demand a higher price for those extra years as the Washington Nationals would if the Red Sox attempted a similar deal for All-Star lefty MacKenzie Gore If the price for Ryan or Gore proved prohibitive perhaps a rental would work The Arizona Diamondbacks have two pending free agents the Red Sox might want to look into Zac Gallen has had a disappointing platform season but prior to this year consistently ranked among the best pitchers in the meeting He s posted three top- Cy Young finishes since and has pitched in the World Series though his ERA in the first half and putrid advanced metrics would have to give any contender pause Then there is Merrill Kelly who has been much more effective this season with a ERA in starts over the first half Kelly is and doesn t have the same All-Star ceiling as the others mentioned but he s also consistently delivered mid-rotation production throughout his career and boasts a career ERA in four postseason starts The Red Sox could use an upgrade at first base and Arizona's Josh Naylor could be one of the top options available on the exchange realm AP Photo Erin Hooley A power-hitting B The tandem of Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro has exceeded expectations since Triston Casas was lost for the season with a knee injury but after a brilliant start Toro batted over the last games entering the All-Star break If there was one spot the Red Sox could afford to upgrade first base would be it Baltimore s Ryan O Hearn Arizona s Josh Naylor and Milwaukee s Rhys Hoskins would all be worthwhile rental targets though Hoskins is on the IL making a promising acquisition comparable to when the Red Sox added an injured Kyle Schwarber at the deadline Tampa Bay s Yandy Diaz is another intriguing possibility The Rays have never shied away from intra-division deals and he s due to make million next season an affordable price for Boston but perhaps not for the low-payroll Rays Given the uncertainty surrounding Casas long-term availability adding a rental or a two-year contestant like Diaz would seemingly make the majority of sense for the Red Sox But if the club sought to take a really big swing it might be worth at least making a call to Atlanta about Matt Olson The three-time All-Star still has four years left on his eight-year million deal but the Braves have been one of MLB s biggest disappointments entering the break fourth in the NL East behind even the Miami Marlins Bullpen help The Red Sox have already reshaped their bullpen over the past month adding Jordan Hicks as part of the Rafael Devers pact and Jorge Alcala in an under-the-radar deal that has so far paid off They ve also brought back Chris Murphy from the -day IL should eventually get Justin Slaten back and could potentially shift a couple of depth starters to the bullpen down the stretch as well Still you can never have too multiple high-leverage arms The two prizes of this year s reliever crop are Minnesota s Jhoan Duran and Cleveland s Emmanuel Clase Duran and Clase are two of baseball s best closers with Duran ranking as the battle s hardest thrower while Clase is a three-time All-Star who finished third in last year s Cy Young vote Besides fortifying the back of Boston s bullpen both also come with additional years of association control which would give the Red Sox a foreseen successor to Aroldis Chapman who is years old and a pending free agent Other viable targets include Tampa Bay closer Pete Fairbanks Baltimore s Felix Bautista and St Louis Ryan Helsley all of whom are serving as closer for their current teams A reunion with former Red Sox set-up man Chris Martin who has a ERA with Texas wouldn t be a bad option either Red Sox pitching prospect Connelly Early is having a fantastic season at Double-A and could be among the club's largest part valuable bargain pieces ahead of the deadline Ella Hannaford Portland Sea Dogs Prospective exchange chips Who would the Red Sox give up in any prospective arrangement One obvious area the club could draw from is its surplus of outfielders As of now the Red Sox have more starting-caliber outfielders than they have room for in the lineup meaning most of days one of Jarren Duran Ceddanne Rafaela Wilyer Abreu Roman Anthony or Masataka Yoshida will be coming off the bench That s not sustainable over the long haul and understandably there has been lots of speculation one of the outfielders could be moved with the majority of the attention falling on Duran But throughout the Red Sox contemporary hot streak the club has juggled everyone s playing time and if Rafaela occasionally plays second base it s conceivable the Red Sox could choose to lean into their depth and save the big shakeup for the offseason Maybe Duran winds up being dealt maybe not but either way if the Red Sox swing a agreement or two they ll mostly draw from their farm system Boston s top prospects who could realistically be traded are infielder Franklin Arias and outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia who rank as the club s No and prospects respectively behind Anthony according to MLB Pipeline following Marcelo Mayer s contemporary graduation from the rankings Garcia participated in the Futures Encounter over All-Star week and has been outstanding since his May promotion to Triple-A but if the ultimate goal is for Anthony Rafaela and Abreu to serve as the outfield of the future then Garcia s path could be blocked Arias is still only and has loads of probable but the Red Sox have Mayer and plenty of other middle infield prospects coming up too which could make Arias expendable As for pitchers Boston s best arms who could conceivably be dealt are left-hander Connelly Early and righty David Sandlin both of whom have been dominant at Double-A One dark horse is -year-old righty Yhoiker Fajardo who was acquired in the Cam Booser commerce this past winter and dominated the Florida Complex League He s since been promoted to Low-A Salem and now ranks among the youngest players in all of the full-season affiliated minor leagues Another group to watch is the club s pending class of Rule eligible prospects who will need to be added to the -man roster this winter to be protected from the Rule draft Breslow drew heavily from this group ahead of last year s deadline and this year s class includes outfielders Miguel Bleis and Allan Castro corner infielder Blaze Jordan and pitchers Jedixson Paez Isaac Coffey and Tyler Uberstine just to name a minimal Is anyone untouchable It s unlikely any of the pitchers Boston has drafted since last summer will go and certainly not Payton Tolle who has already emerged as one of the contest s top left-handed pitching prospects Kristian Campbell is also a lock to remain This has been a rocky season but the Red Sox have already invested heavily in his future and wouldn t want to contract him when his value is at its lowest Besides the Red Sox have more than enough other talent to check off every item on their wish list