One of the issues most teams that find themselves in the midst of the MLB playoff chase have been coping with as the league’s trade deadline sits just one week away has been a market that is heavy on buyers but light on sellers. That makes things a challenge–buyers will almost certainly need to overpay for even average players at key positions. The Red Sox will go into deadline week as buyers, and are well aware of the challenge ahead.
But there was good news for playoff chasers on Thursday. According to veteran reporter Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, one of the major teams that was considered on the fence between buying and selling–the Diamondbacks–have picked a direction and are indicating they’ll be willing to sell off players.
The Red Sox, surely, are taking notice.
Diamondbacks ‘Plan to Trade’
Here’s what Rosenthal reported on the Diamondbacks’ intentions on Thursday:
“The Arizona Diamondbacks are telling rival clubs they plan to trade at least some of their veterans. However, the extent to which the Diamondbacks will sell is not yet clear, according to league sources briefed on their plans.
“The number of deals Arizona completes before next Thursday’s trade deadline will hinge on a variety of factors, including the level of interest in their players, whether the proposals they receive for their qualifying-offer candidates exceed the potential draft-pick compensation and the assessment of club officials about the team’s ability to compete for the third wild-card spot.”
Red Sox in Wild Card Chase
That’s potentially good news for the Red Sox, who are in sole possession of the third wild card spot in the A.L. and in a de facto tie for the second spot with the Mariners. The Yankees lead the wild-card race, 2.5 games ahead of Boston and Seattle.
Three teams (the Rays, Rangers and Guardians) are at or above .500 and within 3.0 games of the Red Sox.
The Red Sox need to address two major spots in the coming week, and the Diamondbacks could help with one, or maybe even both, of those spots. Perhaps the most important addition would be at first base, where the Red Sox have gotten subpar production and need a boost. The Diamondbacks have the perfect candidate to do just that–veteran Josh Naylor.
Sitting on an expiring contract, Naylor would be a relatively cheap addition for the Red Sox. He has not matched last year’s production in Cleveland (31 homers, 108 RBIs), but is batting .292 with 11 homers this year.
Josh Naylor to Platoon?
Should the Red Sox make the move on Naylor, there is some question whether he would assume the first-base role full-time or work in a tandem with Romy Gonzalez, who has played above expectations (.297 batting average, .878 OPS).
One issue the Red Sox could have is that they’re lacking in attractive pitching pieces, and Rosenthal writes that Arizona will be seeking pitching prospects in any trade. But the Red Sox have drafted 21 pitchers in the past two years, so there may be an opportunity to use those unproven arms in a deal.
The Red Sox could seek a wider deal with the Diamondbacks, too, as Arizona has two pitchers (Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen) expected to be on the trade market, and the Red Sox badly need rotation depth.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Red Sox Get Good News on Potential Trade for Slugging 1B appeared first on Heavy Sports.