Red Sox scratch All-Star, adjust ace's schedule, signaling expected deadline deal

Dan Guttenplan

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Red Sox scratch All-Star, adjust ace's schedule, signaling expected deadline deal image

The Boston Red Sox made a couple of last-minute lineup changes prior to the start of this afternoon's game against Minnesota, hinting at a potential trade before the deadline.

Sox manager Alex Cora announced that All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman was scratched from today's lineup due to being "a little bit tired" on the heels of last night's victory over the Twins. Bregman went 1 for 5 with two runs scored in that game.

In another possibly related move, Sox ace Garrett Crochet will no longer start on Friday as scheduled, according to MassLive Red Sox insider Chris Cotillo. Instead, his start will be pushed to Monday or Tuesday.

"This is a plan we had before," Cora said. "We talked about it as a group. We brought it up during the week. ... Yeah, [he's] 100% [understanding of the plan]."

NESN analyst Lou Merloni believes the decision to push back Crochet's start could be related to a trade for a pitcher who is scheduled to start on Friday -- namely, Arizona Diamondbacks ace Merrill Kelly. 

Kelly's next scheduled start for the Diamondbacks is Friday against the Oakland Athletics.

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Dan Guttenplan

Dan Guttenplan is a freelance writer with The Sporting News.