The Boston Red Sox earned the ire of their fans when they let Alex Bregman sign with another team, but they have a chance to at least save face. With a bunch of stars left on the market or to trade for, they just need to make a move.
According to Fansided’s Christopher Kline, the Red Sox could make a blockbuster trade for the back-to-back Cy Young, Tarik Skubal. With Skubal’s latest spat with his team, the Detroit Tigers, over arbitration money, the time to trade him might have finally come.
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“Even after shelling out real assets for Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Johan Oviedo, the Boston Red Sox farm system is ripe for plucking. And Boston could still use a proper No. 2 ace to anchor the rotation next to Garrett Crochet. It’s becoming harder to believe that Craig Breslow would go to the lengths necessary to retain Skubal as a free agent, but Boston has an ascendant contender on its hands all the same and more than enough trade ammo to satisfy Detroit. Payton Tolle and Connelly Early could both start next season on the Tigers’ Opening Day roster. Meanwhile, Kristian Campbell, Franklin Arias and Mikey Romero are all promising young bats with potential day-one impact,” Kline wrote.
This past season, Skubal posted a 13-6 record, a 2.21 ERA, 241 Ks, and a WHIP of 0.891 over 195 innings pitched. Pair him with Garrett Crochet, followed by Brayan Bello, Sonny Gray, and Johan Oviedo, and the Sox arguably have the best rotation in their division.
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The only problem with this trade is that the Sox would NEED to re-sign Skubal. However, given the fact that the Sox argued with Bregman over semantics, giving Skubal his projected eight-year, $299 million deal might seem out of the question.
However, if Boston’s front office has learned from their mistake, this would be the trade to make. Hopefully, they have, and start getting the wheels turning.
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