We are just a game away from learning who will play for the 2025 World Series crown, which means that, with three teams remaining in the fight, silly season is already well underway for the other 27 MLB teams. Considering the promise the Red Sox showed in the past four months or so, as well as money that has been freed up and the depth of young players on hand, this might be a sillier season in Boston than in other places.
Now, it’s very reasonable to assume that the Red Sox will pursue a No. 2 starter, which was a clear need for the team as the stretch run unfolded. But the good folks at Bleacher Report put forth a possibility on Monday that would qualify as a true stunner.
Rather than simply getting a No. 2 behind Garrett Crochet, why not create a devastating 1-2 punch with Crochet and the other AL contender for the Cy Young Award, Tarik Skubal of the Tigers.
Tarik Skubal Among Best in Baseball
While there is little chance the Tigers let Skubal walk, the slim possibility of him hitting the trade market remains. Detroit figures to have a hard time paying Skubal his max value and there’s a chance the sides will come to loggerheads. If that happens, then, given their prospect pool, the Red Sox would be in as good a position as anyone to land him.
Skubal has led the league in ERA and WAR in each of the past two seasons, going 31-10 with a 2.33 ERA in that span. He’s been durable, making 31 starts each season, and posted a league-best .906 WHIP.
He is also entering the final year of team control, which means that there could be risk for the team taking him on in a trade–he could be a one-year rental.
(Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)Garrett Crochet #35 of the Boston Red Sox
Red Sox Package Built Around Young Pitchers?
Might it be worth it for the Red Sox to make a trade for Skubal even if they don’t have him signed long-term? A Skubal-Crochet duo would make Boston the World Series favorites. But it would cost them prospects.
As B/R’s Tim Kelly speculates:
“It’s unclear if the Tigers would be interested in Kristian Campbell, but Marcelo Mayer is ready to take over on a full-time basis at the MLB level somewhere in the infield. Connelly Early and Payton Tolle are two intriguing young lefties that could also entice the Tigers.
“All of this will come down to who wants to give up significant prospect capital for only one guaranteed year of Skubal. It remains to be seen if chief baseball officer Craig Breslow would be interested in doing so. Boston, though, checks off a lot of boxes.”
Red Sox Have the Prospects
Now, again, it is a longshot. But if the Tigers can’t get anywhere on a Skubal extension–and his agent Scott Boras always favors testing the open market–this winter, there is some logic in Detroit getting a return for him while it can.
Early and Tolle both showed potential in their brief stints with Boston late last year, after rocketing through the organization in the spring and summer. One of those pitchers, paired with a lower-level pitching prospect and position players–similar to what the Red Sox gave the White Sox for Crochet last winter–could make for a reasonable starting point.
Unlikely, for sure. But it’s silly season for the Red Sox, after all.
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