MLB Rumors: Yamamoto favorites, Cardinals reunion, Red Sox trade prediction
- Red Sox predicted to trade for an Angels slugger
- Cardinals next big move could be a reunion in St. Louis
- 3 favorites for Yoshinobu Yamamoto have emerged
By Curt Bishop
MLB Rumors: Red Sox targeting Angels slugger in trade?
After trading away Alex Verdugo to their hated rivals in the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox are looking for some help on the offensive side. They already added Tyler O'Neill in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals.
However, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic ($) made an interesting prediction for how the Red Sox could go about addressing their offense, stating that a move for Los Angeles Angels slugger Brandon Drury could be in the cards.
McCaffrey predicted that if Drury is acquired by the Red Sox, he could fill the void at the second base position. The 31-year-old hit for a .262 average during the regular season and also crushed 26 home runs while driving in 83 runs and posting an .803 OPS.
Drury could bring some much-needed versatility to the Red Sox, something that was lost when super utilityman Enrique Hernandez was traded back to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the deadline.
Drury could effectively replace the now-departed Verdugo in the lineup and also take reps at first base and third base in addition to second base.
The Red Sox hung around in the Wild Card race for much of the 2023 season. However, they ultimately fell apart towards the end of the season and wound up in last place in the ever-competitive American League East, finishing with a record of 78-84.
The veteran slugger will come at a cost if the Red Sox try to trade for him, but the team does have plenty of outfielders. Perhaps it's possible that they could ship Bobby Dalbec off to the Angels in an attempt to bring back Drury, giving the former a fresh start with a new organization after falling losing significant playing time in Boston.