At this point, the struggles of the Boston Red Sox starting rotation are well-documented. They rank 29th in the MLB with a 5.46 ERA and are lacking an ace, which has clearly affected the rotation's ability to get going. If these woes continue, will general manager Ben Cherington be handcuffed into making a trade?
Cherington has remained calm about the state of the rotation as trade rumors engulfed the Red Sox for a while now. The past week has looked a bit more promising, even though the team is 2-4 over that stretch. Boston has surrendered just 21 runs over their past six games, but managed to score only 16 as their offense appears to be slumping a bit.
Nonetheless, they're going to need strong starting pitching if they wish to maintain a chance to win the wide open AL East division, which the New York Yankees currently lead by three games over the second-place Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox sit in fourth place with a 13-14 record and most of those wins came thanks to the success of the club's offense (ranked third in runs scored in the month of April).
The bats are guaranteed to slump - it happens in stretches every year. The only way to mitigate a slide due to a lack of offense is with good starting pitching and Rick Porcello helped portray that in last night's 2-0 win over the Rays. However, Porcello's ERA is still 4.38 and that leads the entire rotation. If that continues to be the case, there are a number of trade scenarios the Red Sox can weigh to help improve their pitching.
Oakland Athletics starter Scott Kazmir is off to an excellent start and general manager Billy Beane is likely to explore trades for the left-hander because he's set to hit free agency after the 2015 season and the A's won't be able to afford to retain him. ESPN Insider Jim Bowden suggests the Red Sox trade starter Joe Kelly and prospect outfielder Bryce Brentz in exchange for Kazmir, if the opportunity were to present itself at some point.
"The Red Sox clearly get the better pitcher in the deal, but the A's would get back a 26-year-old starter in Kelly who they would control through 2018," he writes.
"The A's would love to get Brentz back as a second player in this type of trade, a talented player who is blocked by the Red Sox's wealth of outfielders."
But if Kazmir proves to be too pricey for Boston, they could pick up the phone and call the Milwaukee Brewers (8-19), who might be willing to trade of their starters after their horrid start to the season.
"The Brewers, who just fired manager Ron Roenicke, could be selling off pitchers such as Kyle Lohse and Matt Garza if things continue to go badly. Whether they would be an upgrade over what the Red Sox have is up for debate," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
Lohse and Garza have not been impressive this year, but they're not in a situation to succeed, considering Milwaukee ranks 27th in runs scored (88) and 29th in OPS (.622). Lohse has logged four consecutive good seasons from 2011-2014 and Garza has shown what he's capable of when he can stay healthy. Give them some confidence with a talented and experienced Red Sox lineup and it could be a different story.
Both right-handers would also be much cheaper than Kazmir as well as Phillies' starter Cole Hamels, who has been linked to the Red Sox since last July.
While it's all speculation at this point, these wouldn't be bad choices for Cherington to consider if the rotation can't come together as the trade deadline approaches.
