Red Sox AL East Rival Reportedly Shopping Starting Pitching

The Boston Red Sox will enter the All-Star break as one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball after riding a recent nine-game winning streak and leapfrogging the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East standings.

The Red Sox will certainly have their work cut out for them when they return from the All-Star break next week, facing three of the best teams in the National League in the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers.

As a team that’s looking likely to be a buyer at the upcoming trade deadline on July 31, the Red Sox will have to continue their winning ways over the next few weeks to convince Craig Breslow and the team’s front office to acquire help for a postseason run.

Meanwhile, in Baltimore, things haven’t gone as planned for the Orioles this season. A combination of injuries and poor play has resulted in the team sitting in last place in the AL East entering the All-Star break, with all recent reports signaling a major selloff is about to take place in Baltimore over the next few weeks.

While Orioles position players like All-Star Ryan O’Hearn and talented outfielder Cedric Mullins have been rumored to be available, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Orioles could also be willing to deal from its starting rotation.

“Baltimore Orioles starter Zach Eflin, who has been out with back discomfort since late June, is expected to return to the Orioles rotation after the All-Star break, and will become immediate trade bait,” said Nightengale. “The Orioles also are expected to trade Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano barring a dramatic winning streak after the break.”

With the Red Sox possibly in the market for starting pitching following the season-ending injury to rookie Hunter Dobbins and Walker Buehler’s spot in the rotation no longer a given after a recent tough stretch of starts, swinging a deal with the Orioles doesn’t seem far-fetched.

If the Red Sox were to try to swing a deal of O’Hearn and a starting pitcher, Breslow and Boston’s front office have the prospect capital to get a deal done. That being said, making deals with division rivals certainly has its long-term risks involved. But the two teams match up based on needs, and it will be interesting to see if the Red Sox choose to do business with another team that looks to be competitive again as soon as next season.