After having Garrett Crochet as their only dependable starter for the first two months of the season, the Boston Red Sox have finally begun to receive consistency from other members of the rotation.
Following a brutal beginning of the season that made him look like a DFA candidate, veteran right-hander Lucas Giolito has rediscovered his All-Star form, allowing just three earned runs over his last five starts in what has been one of the best stretches of his career. His resurgence perfectly coincided with the progression of Brayan Bello, who has delivered seven straight quality starts and pitched a complete game masterpiece against the Rockies on Tuesday night.
In Giolito and Bello, the Red Sox have found two pitchers who can be counted on to give the surging offense a chance to win each time out. The rest of the rotation, however, has been a different story. Former All-Stars Tanner Houck and Walker Buehler have been disasters, with the former posting an 8.04 ERA and landing on the injured list in May and the latter turning in an only slightly better 6.25 mark. And while rookies Hunter Dobbins and Richard Fitts have shown flashes, both have missed time with arm injuries and have struggled to work deep into games.
As the Red Sox begin to look more and more like trade deadline buyers, adding another starting pitcher is likely at the top of their to-do list. The common consensus may be that the Red Sox go in the direction of a rental like Merrill Kelly or Zach Eflin, but they have both the farm system and the financial capital to swing big. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports that they are among the teams in the mix for Minnesota Twins ace Joe Ryan.
“(The Red Sox) could be a buy and sell posture with a focus on adding a longer-term arm to the rotation," Morosi said on MLB Central. “The man that the Red Sox and a number of teams in the Major Leagues are monitoring at least right now is Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins.”
Though a 3-15 stretch in June knocked the Twins back to the periphery of the playoff race, Ryan has continued to be one of the best right-handers in the American League. He currently boasts a career-low 2.79 ERA while ranking second in the AL in both WAR and WHIP. With a nearly untouchable fastball that plays up due to his elite extension, Ryan possesses many of the same traits that the Red Sox identified in Crochet, and his presence alongside the MLB strikeout leader would give the club arguably the best one-two combination in baseball.
Given his age, performance, and the two years remaining of club control on his contract, Ryan’s services will not come cheap and would likely require the Twins falling so far out of the playoff race that they are willing to wave the white flag and commit to a rebuild. In that case, Ryan will likely be the most sought-after commodity on the trade market, but the Red Sox are uniquely positioned to line up on a deal with the Twins thanks to their deep farm system and overflow of young position players in the majors and upper minors.
More MLB: Padres listed as ideal fit for in-division slugger