A Red Sox-Reds trade to make Yankees failure sting even more

The Boston Red Sox have completely turned their season around recently, pushing the narrative that they should sell at the trade deadline out the window.

While they're still far away from a division title, they have found themselves back in the postseason race and MLB insider Jon Heyman believes they won't be selling on the players that they were expected to sell.

"The Red Sox are thinking status quo, for now anyway. So Tyler O’Neill, Nick Pivetta and Kenley Jansen may stay."

Instead of selling, the Red Sox could look to buy, particularly to improve their pitching rotation and one target was also mentioned by Heyman in his reporting as a potential mover.

A Reds-Red Sox trade to send former Yankee Frankie Montas to Boston

The Cincinnati Reds, unlike the Red Sox, likely won't be in the prime position to buy at the deadline. Cincinnati has been cursed with injuries and underperformance from some of their roster this year including standout second baseman Matt McLain.

If Cincinnati is in the position to sell, Frankie Montas comes to the front of the mind as a player that the Reds would look to move on from and was reported as a pitcher who could be traded by Heyman. While Montas has been competitive this year, he just doesn't fit in the future of the Reds rotation. Rhett Lowder and Chase Petty sit in the minor leagues preparing to replace him soon enough.

Boston could turn to the Reds to make a trade for the former Yankee, Frankie Montas. Montas was a failure of a Yankee, only tossing 40 innings for New York before ending up in Cincinnati. If Boston could acquire him and use him to push toward a postseason and World Series berth, it could be the ultimate punch to the gut for the Yankees.

Montas is having a decent 2024, where he's thrown 66.1 innings with an ERA around 4.50. He could benefit from getting out of the hitter friendly ballpark that is Great American Ballpark.

Fitts and Dobbins, two top-30 prospects in the Red Sox system, would be a solid return for a starter with a mutual option for next season. Fitts holds a 3.86 ERA over 60.2 innings in Triple-A this year. Dobbins holds a 4.22 ERA over 59.2 innings in Double-A. Both have excellent arsenals and have shown the ability to pound the zone, a feature that is lacking in some Reds prospects.

Montas would be a good addition to the Red Sox rotation. He's shown the ability to compete and compete at a high level over the course of his career. Montas is looking to win and compete for a World Series, so if the Reds fall out of the picture, Boston could swoop in and grab him.