MLB Trade Deadline Rumors: 5 trades Red Sox should make

2. Trade for Zack Cozart

An out of the box option for solving Boston’s third base conundrum, acquiring Zack Cozart from the Cincinnati Reds would require the Red Sox to shift Xander Bogaerts to third base, but would help both the lineup and defense – a win, win.

Cozart had a breakout season at exactly the right time. After breaking into the major leagues in 2011 at the age of 25, Cozart hit .246/.289/.385 during his first six major league seasons. A glove-first shortstop, Cozart hit 58 home runs and drove in 218 runs in more than 2,500 plate appearances during that period. He was a better than replacement-level player because of his defensive prowess, but never posted better than 2.5 Wins Above Replacement in any season.

However, 69 games into his walk year, Cozart has hit an outstanding .306/.390/.529 with nine home runs, 35 RBI and 42 runs scored. He has also played stellar defense at shortstop, helping boost him to 2.8 fWAR, which ranks No. 22 in the majors and fourth among all shortstops behind just Carlos Correa (4.0), Corey Seager (3.7) and Andrelton Simmons (3.1).

It’s no shock Cozart was selected for the All-Star Game, though it was surprising to see the fans elect him to start (and also that by doing so, Joey Votto bought him a donkey). And now, especially since he will be a free agent at the end of the season and the Reds out of contention for a playoff spot, it would be a bit surprising if Cozart were still in Cincinnati on August 1.