Red Sox Trade Rumors: Mitch Keller, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly Latest Updates

Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow knows you can never have too much pitching and that figures to factor into his decisions ahead of Thursday’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline.

Late Wednesday night the Red Sox completed a deal for St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz.

The Boston Globe’s Tim Healey and Masslive.com’s Chris Cotillo report the Red Sox will use Matz as a multi-inning reliever out of the bullpen.

As a result, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports the “Red Sox could attempt to land both a starter and reliever, even after dealing for Matz.” 

MLB.com’s Ian Browne also thinks another starter makes sense for Boston.

“The Yankees, Astros, Red Sox, Cubs and Blue Jays are among the contenders who could be in the market for a high-end rental starter,” ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez added Thursday.

But it won’t be Mitch Keller, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

“Barring a dramatic shift on Thursday, the Pittsburgh Pirates are likely to keep right-hander Mitch Keller, according to major-league sources briefed on their discussions,” Rosenthal wrote Thursday.

“An executive from a team interested in Keller, granted anonymity for his candor, said his team has not ‘even bothered’ continuing its pursuit of the pitcher, citing the Pirates’ reluctance to seriously engage,” Rosenthal added.

So that leads us to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who appear to be open for business after trading All-Star slugger Eugenio Suarez to the Seattle Mariners late Wednesday.

“And now, with the deadline hours away, the focus shifts to their two front-line starting pitchers, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, both of whom are eligible for free agency at season’s end. Kelly is expected to be traded (Thursday), sources said. Whether Gallen gets moved, though, remains to be seen,” Gonzalez noted.

Gallen, 29, is 7-12 with a 5.60 ERA in 22 starts this season. The right-hander was an All-Star two years ago and finished the season with a career-high 17 wins. On top of that, he has three top-10 finishes in Cy Young voting over his seven-year MLB career.

Kelly, 36, is 9-6 with a 3.22 ERA in 22 starts this season.