The Boston Red Sox have won seven consecutive games and now are in sole possession of the final American League Wild Card spot. They are also just five games back of the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East.
The team has some needs to address at the trade deadline. They could always use one more frontline starter to pair with Garret Crochet.
The rotation has performed well as of late, but more arms certainly can't hurt as they try to continue their surge.
Christopher Kline of FanSided proposed the idea of Boston trading for Minnesota Twins All-Star right-hander Joe Ryan.
"With the Minnesota Twins on the verge of another trade deadline sell-off, All-Star ace Joe Ryan has been top of mind for baseball fans everywhere. All contenders need better pitching, but the Red Sox in particular would benefit from another proper workhorse behind Garrett Crochet. Both Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello are trending in the right direction, but depth and consistency in the rotation has been Boston's primary bugaboo all season. Ryan would help," Kline wrote.
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Ryan is 8-4 with a 2.76 ERA and 3.8 WAR in 17 starts and one relief appearance for the Twins this year. He has recorded 116 strikeouts and pitched 104 1/3 innings.
The 29-year-old right-hander is averaging 10 strikeouts per nine innings, and with the Twins likely selling, it would make sense for Boston to try and acquire Ryan.
The Red Sox would have to give up a significant number of top prospects to make this work, but they do have the prospect capital to get a deal done. Even after trading away Rafael Devers, Boston is performing well and will likely look to buy at the deadline.
It will certainly be interesting to see how Boston navigates the next few weeks. A lot can change before the deadline, but the Red Sox are currently in a good spot.
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