A Red Sox-Marlins trade for a former All-Star on a sudden resurgence

At one point this season, Tim Anderson was hitting under .200 and looked to be a complete lost cause. But recently, the Marlins infielder has shown a bit of life in his offensive approach, creating speculation that the Marlins could get a prospect for him in a trade.

In the month of June, Anderson is slashing .300/.300/.300, and no, that's not a typo -- 18 hits, 18 singles and no walks for the month of June. He's managed to raise his average over .030 points and his OPS over .050 points in just the last few weeks.

A team like the Boston Red Sox could take a flier on him, adding him as infield depth for extremely cheap.

A cheap Red Sox-Marlins trade that brings Tim Anderson to Fenway Park

This deal wouldn't win the Red Sox the division and it wouldn't be the tipping point to put them into the playoffs, but it would provide them with an experienced infielder that could be valuable depth down the stretch.

The Red Sox are incredibly shallow in the infield, with their middle infield being made up of two of the younger players on their roster. They could acquire Anderson as a depth or rotational piece as well as a bit of a mentor for the young infielders. And they could acquire him for cheap.

In this hypothetical trade, the Red Sox would send their 28th-ranked prospect, pitcher Brandon Walter, to the Marlins for Tim Anderson.

The Marlins would be happy to get anything for an expiring contract in Anderson. Even though Walter is 27 years old and has had no relative success in the big leagues, they would be taking a flier on him as a prospect just the same way the Red Sox would be taking a flier on Anderson.

The worst case for the Marlins is they get out of the rest of Anderson's contract, even if Walter never makes the big leagues again. Walter has potential to become a lefty specialist in the big leagues with a few improvements to his arsenal.

For the Red Sox, this trade is still a huge maybe. Anderson has plenty of red flags. He hasn't been able to hit for power in years. He's shown that he can easily regress into a sub-.200 level hitter.

But again, Boston isn't making a deal like this for an All-Star shortstop. If Anderson can provide depth for the rest of the season while contributing, even just a little bit, he would be more valuable to them than Walter will likely ever be. The key for the Red Sox would be to move a prospect that will likely never crack their roster.