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MLB trade rumors: 5 players the Red Sox should acquire

By Joshua Sadlock

Jun 2, 2017; Baltimore, MD, USA; Boston Red Sox president of baseball operation Dave Dombrowski looks on during batting practice before a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Patrick McDermott-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 2, 2017; Baltimore, MD, USA; Boston Red Sox president of baseball operation Dave Dombrowski looks on during batting practice before a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Patrick McDermott-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 13, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) delivers a pitch against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 13, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) delivers a pitch against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Gerrit Cole

The Red Sox do need to add a starting pitcher at the trade deadline, but there is a fundamental problem when it comes to trying to build out a playoff rotation with pieces from sellers. Bad teams that are selling at the deadline are typically bad because their starting pitching is not very good.

Count the Pittsburgh Pirates in the “seller” category. Gerrit Cole is one of their more attractive chips, even with his 4.54 ERA. The right-hander has had his struggles this season, but his numbers are inflated by an ugly four-start stretch from May 22 to June 8 that raised his ERA by almost two full runs. Prior to allowing 39 hits and 23 runs in 19.1 innings, Cole had held opponents to a .219 batting average and .642 OPS. He did not allow more than two earned runs in a seven straight starts at one point in late April and early May.

Cole and Chicago White Sox “ace” Jose Quintana figure to be the two biggest names available on the starting pitcher market at the trade deadline. Cole offers much more upside and is not a free agent until after the 2019 season. The Red Sox bought extremely high on starter Drew Pomeranz last summer and have gotten the short end of that trade so far. With Cole, the price would still be very high, but still lower than it may have been had he not hit the skids for a brief stretch.

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