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Red Sox among ‘best fits' for these trade candidates, MLB insiders say originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox are expected to be active ahead of the 2025 MLB trade deadline. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has clearly stated his desire to add “impact starting pitching” before 6 p.m. ET on July 31.

While pitching is undoubtedly the priority, the Red Sox could also look to upgrade at first base and catcher. Breslow should be aggressive in his efforts to improve the roster, with Boston currently in postseason contention and aiming to clinch its first playoff berth since 2021.

So, which players should be on Breslow’s radar? ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel listed the Red Sox as one of the “best fits” for these eight potential trade candidates:

• Miami Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara
• Miami Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera
• Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly
• Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman/designated hitter Josh Naylor
• Kansas City Royals left-hander Kris Bubic
• Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller
• Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Taj Bradley
• Baltimore Orioles first baseman/designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn

Cabrera, Kelly, Bubic, and Keller were also featured in our list of 10 starting pitchers Boston should target in trades. Naylor and O’Hearn were among our five potential position player targets.

As for Alcantara and Bradley, both are in the midst of down seasons to varying degrees. Alcantara, the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner, has a 7.14 ERA and 1.495 WHIP across 19 starts. Bradley has a 4.35 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 20 starts.

Alcantara is the more realistic — albeit less enticing — option of the two. The 29-year-old is under team control through 2026 while the 24-year-old Bradley is under contract through 2029.

Breslow has used the phrase “impact starting pitching” multiple times when asked about Boston’s trade deadline priority. That would suggest he is eyeing a true No. 2 starter to slot behind ace Garrett Crochet, in which case Kelly, Bubic, and Keller appear to be the most sensible options on the list.

This upcoming trade deadline will be critical for the Red Sox, and it could ultimately seal Breslow’s fate as Boston’s front-office leader. Last season, his first as Chaim Bloom’s replacement, Breslow traded for catcher Danny Jansen, right-hander Quinn Priester, and relievers Lucas Sims and Luis Garcia. The Red Sox missed the postseason, and none of those four players are still with the team.

The Diamondbacks found themselves out of a playoff spot at the All-Star break, and while that could change, it's looking more and more likely that Arizona will be sellers at the trade deadline.

Arizona has some talented players on expiring contracts that teams like the Yankees could use for their own World Series pursuits.Eugenio Suarez and Zac Gallen are two such names, and so is Merrill Kelly.

The veteran right-hander revitalized his career a few years back and has become one of the more reliable arms in the Diamondbacks' rotation.

With the Yankees in need of a starter to help their injury-riddled rotation, should they look to bring in Kelly?

Pros

Kelly may have begun his big league career late, but time has been kind to the 36-year-old. Since making his debut in 2019, Kelly has made at least 27 starts in four of those seasons, with the two outliers being the 2020 shortened year and in 2024 when he dealt with numerous injuries. He's also already made 20 starts this year and is on pace to reach 30 starts barring an injury. That shows how reliable Kelly has been for Arizona, which is a great ability to have -- especially for the Yankees, who have seen starters drop all year.

Not only has Kelly been durable, but he's been effective. He's never finished a season with an ERA above 4.44, and his WHIP has never reached 1.30 since his rookie year.

Kelly's numbers aren't flashy, as he doesn't strike out a lot of batters and his average fastball sits in the low 90s, but he doesn't get into too much trouble. This season, batters are hitting .207 against him -- a career-best -- and his 1.05 WHIP is the lowest since 2020. Batters are also chasing at a 31.3 percent clip, which is in the 82nd percentile in MLB, and whiff at a 25.6 percent rate -- which is in the 56th percentile.

Kelly is also in the final year of his deal, which, while making him a rental, allows the Yankees to fill the holes left by missing starters like Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt, who are lost for the season.

Cons

There's very little risk to acquiring Kelly considering his contract, but it depends on what Arizona will ask for. The Diamondbacks can't possibly ask for top prospects, but who knows how the market can play out.

And then there's Kelly's age. Yes, he's been durable for the majority of his career but he's coming off a season where he had a shoulder injury that cost him three months. The potential for any pitcher to go down with an injury is there, but Kelly could be at risk because of his age.

As for Kelly's stuff, he's very good but this season has seen hitters square him up regularly. Batters have an average exit velocity of 90.8. Last season, they had an average of 90.5, which ranked in the bottom nine percent of MLB. So while he's getting plenty of whiffs and chases, if he misses with his location, he's at risk of getting hit hard.

Verdict

Between Zac Gallen and Kelly, the Yankees should go for Kelly. Gallen's ceiling is higher, but Kelly's floor is. And for a rental the Yanks could use Kelly as a stop-gap instead of a potential long-term answer in the rotation.

He can slide behind Max Fried and Carlos Rodon as the team's No. 3 starter to give New York a potent rotation for any postseason series.

As the trade deadline looms, the Marlins could have a serious impact on the league market, especially with attractive pitchers such as right-hander Edward Cabrera potentially available.

Cabrera, a "stuff" monster who has enchanted prospect hypers for years, offers a tantalizing five-pitch mix, including a dazzling, hard changeup.

If talent were the only quality involved, it’d be an easy call to urge the Mets to pursue a deal. But, of course, Cabrera is more complicated -- aren’t we all? -- and the idea of trading for him requires a deeper dive.

We’ll start with the givens: Cabrera has massive ability. The Mets have massive pitching needs, even though the early body of work they’ve banked left them with a 3.41 starters ERA entering Sunday, fifth-best in MLB. Only four teams were getting fewer innings per start than the Mets, which is increasing bullpen stress in Queens.

Even with their rotation seemingly whole now, the Mets need arms to navigate the rest of the regular season schedule and, they hope, well beyond. Is Cabrera an answer?

Let’s look at the pros and cons...

Pros

Despite his enormous promise, Cabrera, 27, has struggled to find consistency or even pitch consistently. This year, however, he might be blossoming. Entering play Sunday, Cabrera had a 3.61 ERA in 16 starts.

His overall ERA would be much more attractive (2.78) if you drop two April duds, in which he gave up a total of 10 earned runs in eight innings in starts against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers. In an 11-start span from May 4 to July 6, Cabrera had a 2.11 ERA.

His walk rate of 3.3 per nine innings would be the lowest of his career over a full season, and he’s already delivered 82.1 innings. He has never reached 100 innings in the majors before, but he will this year -- assuming he does not miss time because of an injury.

His changeup, which he throws the most, averages 93.8 mph. It’s the fourth-hardest changeup in MLB. He’s also increased the use of his 83 mph curve ball and that’s helped him -- opponents have a batting average of .129 on at-bats that end on the curve.

Cabrera also has a fastball that averages nearly 97 mph -- though, at times, he has trouble commanding it. That may explain why he throws it the least of any of his five pitches, including a sinker and slider.

Another pro: Cabrera, who's making $1.95 million this season, comes with club control for three seasons beyond this one. This means he isn't a free agent until after the 2028 season. He’s no rental.

Cons

What do you believe about his season? Breakout or mirage? And what about his injury history, which is part of the reason he hasn’t reached triple digits in innings pitched in any big league season?

A shoulder injury limited him in both 2023 and 2024, and he left his last start before the All-Star break this season with discomfort in his right elbow. He went for an MRI and it came back clean. He is scheduled to start Tuesday when the Marlins play the Padres.

Because he has so much club control remaining through arbitration, he’s much more valuable than a free-agent-to-be. But that also makes him more expensive in terms of trade chips, especially in a market that could be thin in available starting pitchers. Cabrera appears to have a lofty ceiling, too.

Yes, the club control is both a pro and a con. Weird, right? It is what it is.

And there’s also this: the Marlins entered play on Sunday only five games out of a playoff spot, sitting at 46-51 and in third place in the NL East.

They perhaps don’t profile as everybody’s most likely playoff team this season, but their lot in baseball life doesn’t exactly demand that they trade a pitcher like Cabrera right now, either. He’s not a pending free agent.

If the Marlins trade away controllable young studs, who’s going to fuel their ongoing rebuild? Then again, if they do trade a player with this much control -- who they presumably know better than anyone else -- what, exactly, does that mean?

Verdict

The Mets could use Cabrera -- who couldn’t, really? -- but this feels like a price tag that will soar quickly, unless the Diamondbacks and Twins flood the market with starters, too. Teams might be reluctant to part with top prospects because of his injury history, but the talent is there.

If Cabrera costs one premium prospect, it’s worth thinking about because of his age, the remaining control -- four pennant races total! -- and because he’s shown ability against big league beasts. Cabrera isn’t just a hopeful on a prospect list thriving in a league made up of generally-lesser players.

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Angels play a three-game series at Citi Field starting on Monday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

5 things to watch

Francisco Alvarez's return

After spending a month with Triple-A Syracuse, Alvarez is returning to the Mets ahead of Monday's series-opener.

When David Stearns discussed Alvarez's demotion, he said the things they wanted to see from him were "not statistical." Reading between the lines, that meant one of the things they wanted him to improve was his defense -- something that was giving him serious trouble before he was sent down.

Meanwhile, Alvarez -- who homered in his final game with New York before being sent to Syracuse -- carried that with him to the minors, going on an eye-popping power tear.

While in Triple-A, Alvarez smashed 11 home runs, including one he cracked over the batter's eye in center field on Sunday.

As was the case when Alvarez was sent down, the Mets' bottom of the order has been struggling to produce. But if the 23-year-old catcher can start putting together consistent at-bats and be a serious power threat, it can change the dynamic of the lineup.

The center field situation

The Mets continue to patch center field together by using Tyrone Taylor and Jeff McNeil. But the case can be made that McNeil should be getting nearly every start.

While center isn't McNeil's natural spot, he's done an admirable job there. He also has an .813 OPS.

As far as Taylor, he's been mired in a deep slump and is hitting just .211/.264/.309 with a .572 OPS and 66 OPS+. He provides elite defense, but his bat is hurting the Mets badly.

It's expected that New York will trade for a center fielder ahead of the July 31 deadline. But until then, it should be McNeil who's out there.

Can the starting rotation provide length?

The only Mets starter who has been providing serious length is David Peterson, who tossed 6.0 strong innings during Sunday's win over the Reds.

Sean Manaea just came back from the IL and is being eased back in, while Clay Holmes is having his innings managed in what is his first season since transitioning from the bullpen.

The inability of the starters to go deep has put undue stress on the bullpen, which started to wilt late in the first half.

Against the Angels, New York will be sending Kodai Senga, Frankie Montas, and Manaea to the mound.

Senga, like Manaea, is still getting fully stretched out after returning from the IL. He went 4.0 innings in his first start back while tossing 67 pitches, so he should conceivably be good throw around 80 pitches this time around.

The same pitch number could be a target for Manaea, who was limited to 69 pitches over 4.0 innings during his start this past Friday.

The Angels have serious punch

Los Angeles is 49-50 and likely headed for another finish that has them missing the postseason. But their offense can be dangerous.

With Mike Trout (17 homers, .834 OPS), Jo Adell (21 homers, .805 OPS), Taylor Ward (23 homers, .795 OPS), Zach Neto (15 homers, .816 OPS), and Logan O'Hoppe (17 homers, .703 OPS), the Angels' lineup is formidable.

That potential hasn't always translated, with the Angels in the middle of the pack in the AL as far as runs scored.

But Los Angeles has been hot lately, scoring 36 runs over the last six games, which included them talking two of three from the Phillies over the weekend.

Los Angeles' pitching leaves a lot to be desired

The Mets won't be facing the Angels' two best starters during this series, with Yusei Kikuchi (3.13 ERA) and Jose Soriano (3.83 ERA) not lined up to pitch.

Los Angeles will be sending out Tyler Anderson (4.34 ERA) and Kyle Hendricks (4.88 ERA) in the first two games in New York, and haven't yet named a starter for Wednesday's series finale.

Overall this season, the Angels have surrendered 496 runs -- the third-most in the AL and fifth-most in baseball.

The only teams that have allowed more runs than the Angels are the Rockies, Athletics, Nationals, and Orioles.

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Juan Soto

Despite his homer on Friday, Soto has been relatively cold to start the second half. That ends here.

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

Manaea has allowed just two runs in 7.1 innings while striking out 13 in his first two appearances of the season.

Which Angels player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?

Jo Adell

Adell launched two homers over the weekend in Philadelphia.