The MLB trade deadline in now just four days away, and the Boston Red Sox have not made any significant moves â or even given any indications of what chief of baseball operations Craig Breslow might do to bolster the team. The Red Sox could use some help. Heading into Sunday’s action, they held the third and final American League Wild Card spot, but only by a half-game over the Texas Rangers.
They also sit a half-game behind the Seattle Mariners who hold the second Wild Card as of Sunday. But after a 10-game winning streak that took the Red Sox into the All-Star break, since returning the Red Sox have lost five of eight games.
Red Sox Need ‘Impact Starting Pitching’
Of the three games the Red Sox have won since the All-Star break, two were started by their lefty ace Garrett Crochet, who collected the win in both outings. That is probably why Breslow has made a point of saying in interviews that the team’s priority with any trade deadline moves will be “impact starting pitching.”
While several familiar names have been discussed as potential trade targets â the Miami Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara and Dylan Cease of the San Diego Padres foremost among them â the Red Sox have also been linked to one who may be the best starting pitcher no one’s ever heard of.
Out of 174 starting pitchers who have thrown at least 110 innings this season, only 10 have so far posted a Fielding Independent Pitching number of 3.00 or under. FIP is similar to ERA, except it takes into account only results controlled by the pitcher. Namely, home runs, walks and strikeouts.
Bubic Ranks Ahead of Other Red Sox Trade Targets
On that list of FIP leaders, at No. 6 is 27-year-old Royals southpaw Kris Bubic, the second of Kansas City’s two first-round draft picks in 2018, 40th overall, out of Stanford.
Bubic’s FIP of 2.85 ranked him ahead of such better-known star pitchers as the New York Yankees’ Max Fried (12th at 3.06), and two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom of the Texas Rangers (17th, 3.25).
Perhaps more to the point, Bubcic also ranks ahead of other, more widely discussed Red Sox trade targets as the Minnesota Twins’ Joe Ryan (15th, 3.17), MacKenzie Gore of the Washington Nationals (18th, 3.28) and the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Mitch Keller (20th, 3.42).
Under Team Control Through 2026
The Royals lefty’s conventional ERA of 2.55 ranks him 10th in MLB.
Bubic is especially attractive because he remains under team control for the 2026 season and is making just $3 million this year.
The Red Sox cable network NESN described Bubic as “one of the more intriguing under-the-radar names linked to Boston in recent weeks thanks to strong performance metrics and a year and a half of team control.”
If Bubic seems too good to be true as a Red Sox trade acquisition, that’s because he is. At least, it became clear that Boston will not be trading for him on Sunday when the Royals sent the sixth-year pitcher to the 15-day injured list.
Bubic Admits Shoulder Bothered Him Most of Season
The injury is reported to be rotator cuff strain in Bubic’s pitching shoulder. But the announcement came with a confession by the hurler that will frustrate the Red Sox â and any other team that may have been targeting Bubcic as a deadline acquisition.
After being pulled from Saturday’s second game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians after just 2 2/3 innings, the shortest of his 20 starts, Bubic admitted “that ‘physically something’s not right’ and mentioned that he’s been dealing with shoulder stiffness for ‘a good portion of the season,’” according to MLB.com reporter Anne Rogers.
Presumably, then, if the Red Sox had traded for him before he went on the IL, Bubic would have been damaged goods anyway.
“For now, what looked like a promising potential trade match appears firmly stuck in limbo,” wrote NESN‘s Jay Pritchard.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Red Sox ‘Intriguing’ Trade Target Makes Frustrating Confession appeared first on Heavy Sports.