The Boston Red Sox are struggling this season. They are currently suffering through a five-game losing streak and have fallen to 40-42 on the season.
Though they are only 2 1/2 games out in the American League Wild Card race, but are seven back in the AL East. In order to stop the bleeding, they may need to make a big move or two at the trade deadline.
Starting pitching is an area where Boston could use some help. Beyond Garrett Crochet, they don't have much in their rotation.
Cody Williams of FanSided proposed the idea of Boston targeting Freddy Peralta at the deadline.
"Peralta has long been a high-quality arm in the rotation but has leveled up further this season with some of the best numbers of his career. Furthermore, his baseline — he's not posted an ERA higher than 3.86 since the 2020 season — would give Boston that much-needed reliability behind Crochet at the top of the rotation for this year and next in a cost-effective manner in terms of salary and the 2026 club option," Williams wrote.
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Peralta is having a strong season with the Milwaukee Brewers. He's 8-4 with a 2.90 ERA in 17 starts and has posted a 2.2 WAR.
The 29-year-old right-hander was an All-Star in 2021 and has emerged as the ace of the Brewers. Milwaukee is in contention, so it might be tough to land him for Boston.
However, the Brewers have traded stars before and remained competitive, so it's not an unfamiliar strategy for Milwaukee.
Boston would have to give up a good deal of prospects, but they do have the prospect capital to get a deal done with Milwaukee. The former All-Star would give the Red Sox a much-needed second ace and prove to the fans that they are attempting to contend down the stretch.
This could give the Red Sox a chance to fight back and gain some ground in the AL East. We'll see how they approach the deadline.
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