Red Sox Rumors: Optioning Triston Casas, shorstop help delayed, Royals trade target

Red Sox Rumors: Amir Garrett could be the perfect trade target to help bullpen

When you just look at the numbers, the Red Sox bullpen has shockingly been better than the starting pitching in terms of ERA this season. Anecdotally, however, that has definitely changed over the past few weeks with the way that Alex Cora has managed the roster and with players returning.

Corey Kluber, Nick Pivetta and Kutter Crawford are all now in the bullpen, where they’ve performed well for the most part since making the change. Meanwhile, Brayan Bello has started to flash more of his promise, Chris Sale looks back to dominant form, Garrett Whitlock is off the IL, James Paxton has been far better than expected, and Tanner Houck is solid.

Where things have been a bit trickier for the Red Sox, though, is at the back end of the bullpen. Kenley Jansen, outside of a few blips following his 400th career save, has been a stud for Boston, but they’ve struggled to find consistency from other shorter bullpen arms, with the exception of Brennan Bernardino.

Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals have been cratering this season, sitting at a dismal 17-39. That likely makes them a big seller at the MLB Trade Deadline, a notion corroborated by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. And if that’s the case, then Amir Garrett should be at the top of the Red Sox wish list in terms of trades.

The 31-year-old southpaw struggled for the Royals a year ago, but has been highly impressive overall this season, posting a 3.00 ERA in 21.0 innings to this point. He was a tad shaky early in May after a strong April, but has rebounded with only one hit and six walks allowed over his last four appearances with no earned runs.

Adding a veteran lefty to the back of the bullpen to work into the mix with Jansen and Bernardino would be huge for the Red Sox in not putting as much pressure on the starters and, of course, simply alleviating the wear and tear on the rest of the bullpen as well.