3 urgent Red Sox trades to keep heat on Yankees after Jazz Chisholm deal

The Boston Red Sox have been slowly but surely chasing the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. Over the course of a month, Boston has made up some serious ground on their rivals, but they need to keep pace at the trade deadline as well.

On Saturday afternoon, the Yankees made a blockbuster deal for Miami Marlins utility man Jazz Chisholm Jr. Chisholm gives the Yankees a young star with incredible potential and a dangerous power and speed combination. He will slot in the Yankee lineup as the leadoff hitter, right ahead of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.

Boston responded by making their own trade for Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen, but that move doesn't really move the needle. They will need to make a few bigger trades to outpace the Yankees at the deadline, making their pursuit of the AL East that much easier.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders, and join the discord to get the inside scoop as we near the July 30 MLB trade deadline.

3. RHP Luis Garcia, Los Angeles Angels

The first player on this list is listed here for a few different reasons. First, let's look into how the Los Angeles Angels veteran reliever, Luis Garcia, has thrown this year.

Garcia, 37, currently holds a 3.80 ERA across 42.2 innings pitched. He's struck out 40 batters in that span and holds a respectable 1.20 WHIP on the year. The righty has a solid pitch mix featuring multiple plus pitches. His splitter, sweeper and slider all induce whiff rates higher than 34 percent, per Baseball Savant.

Maybe the more important thing to note here is that the Yankees are also pursuing Garcia, per MLB insider Jon Heyman. The idea of the Red Sox aggressively adding right now would be to outpace the Yankees in terms of adding talent. If they are to lose a coveted target of theirs, watching him end up in a Yankees uniform, it would be the worst case scenario for Boston fans.

Imagine the feelings in Boston if they miss out on Garcia and they watch him end up in a Yankees uniform, where he's a crucial piece to the Bronx Bombers adding another AL pennant and another World Series championship.

Not the scenario that Boston fans want to imagine. They're better off acquiring the reliever for themselves.

2. INF Luis Rengifo, Los Angeles Angels

Earlier this week, the Red Sox general manager made it known the Boston was going to be pursuing a right-handed hitter, with them likely looking for an infielder, before the trade deadline. Boston could look to add switch hitter Luis Rengifo, accounting for the right handed hitter while also being able to hit lefty as well, from the Los Angeles Angels.

Rengifo, 27, has missed a bit of time this year. He's only recorded 266 at bats, but in those at bats, the infielder is slashing .308/.352/.432 with six home runs, 13 doubles and 23 stolen bases. The switch hitter is an elite bat-to-ball hitter that sprays the ball all across the field. His Baseball Savant page isn't one to write home about, but he has an elite strikeout rate and a solid xBA rating. He will likely continue to produce at the level he does despite low barrel and hard-hit percentages.

He's a versatile defender, being able to move all around the infield, but his outs above average shows that he isn't a quality defender.

He's expected to be a highly sought after infielder ahead of the deadline and the Red Sox need to take their chance on him before he lands elsewhere.

1. LHP Tanner Scott, Miami Marlins

Out of all players on the market this season, the Miami Marlins closer, Tanner Scott, is likely going to be the most pursued player before the trade deadline. Scott would provide an upgrade to any bullpen in the league and a ton of different teams are desperate for high leverage arms.

Given the state of the market this season and the fact that Scott is now the best reliever left, he is expected to be traded for a massive haul of quality prospects. There's good reason for that though.

Scott, 30, holds an incredible ERA of 1.18 on the season. Across 45.2 innings pitched this season, the Marlins' southpaw has only allowed six earned runs while striking out 53 hitters. He's allowing a slash line of .127/.264/.180 on the season and it's absurd to even imagine a pitcher that dominant.

Boston will be in the market for a closer, especially after Kenley Jansen's recent blown save against the New York Yankees on Saturday. Scott is the best option on the market and he would come to Boston and immediately make an impact. He would take a ton of pressure off the shoulders of other Red Sox relievers. It would cost Boston a pretty penny though.