Red Sox news: Pitching reinforcements, Devers makes history, Cy Young connection?

The Boston Red Sox are struggling on multiple fronts. Their postseason aspirations are fading rapidly, with a five-game gap now separating them from the American League's sixth seed. Since the All-Star break, the team's performance has declined sharply, largely due to diminished output from both the starting rotation and the bullpen.

Since July 1, only the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox have a worse team earned run average than the New England outfit. One of its biggest strengths from earlier in the campaign took a vacation and never came back.

The focus is beginning to shift to the offseason -- an opportunity for Craig Breslow to bring in some reinforcements so this late season collapse on the mound doesn't occur in 2025. One name, in addition to Corbin Burnes, that Boston has been attached to is Cleveland Guardians right-handed starter Shane Bieber.

The 2020 AL Cy Young winner has piqued the interest of the Red Sox, most notably ahead of the 2023 trade deadline. He was brought up once again in a recent Sports Illustrated piece, discussing the fact that Bieber should be one of the two quality starters joining the Sox this offseason.

The two-time All-Star is set to miss a large chunk of the 2025 campaign after he underwent Tommy John surgery to repair his UCL in April. Though his history of injuries is a large concern, his age and career 3.22 ERA doesn't lie.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

Red Sox needs RIch Hill's help, Rafael Devers rakes and Shane Bieber is a good start to solving the pitching issues

According to Robert Murray, our resident Major League Baseball Insider, Boston is activating Rich Hill following a pair of defeats to begin a crucial five-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park.

The Massachusetts native signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox less than two weeks ago, making one start for Triple-A Worcester before joining the big league squad. He tossed two innings against the Norfolk Tides, allowing no hits to seven batters while walking one in the process. This is Hill's fourth stint with the Red Sox, a franchise he previously pitched for from 2010-12 and again in 2015 and then in 2022.

By no means is he going to save Boston issues on the bump, but it's still another arm to help out a group that has up 228 runs since the All-Star break -- far and away the most in MLB.

At the plate, star third baseman Rafael Devers is on pace for the highest OPS of his professional career. He is even making some history along the way.

On Sunday, Devers belted his 200th home run in a Red Sox uniform to dead center field, albeit in a loss to the surging Arizona Diamondbacks. This milestone makes him the youngest player in franchise history to reach 200 homers, achieving the feat before his 28th birthday.

That homer also propelled Devers to second place all-time in extra-base hits among Dominican-born players, surpassing Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre. According to SoxNotes on X, he now trails only Albert Pujols, needing 127 more extra-base hits to catch the leader.