Assessing 3 potential Red Sox trade targets
The Boston Red Sox have the American League’s best record after the 15–1 romping of the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.
With that in mind, to say this roster is a finished product would be far from the truth. Even with their success, plenty of holes need to be addressed if this team wants a shot at competing well into October.
But determining who to acquire, especially with eyes set on maintaining success deep into the future, can be difficult. Plenty of cost-efficient veterans will command a lot of prospect capital and plenty of good players that command a lot of money.
However, regardless of that, who makes sense for Chaim Bloom and the Boston Red Sox?
Carlos Santana –– 1B/DH –– Kansas City Royals
Santana just finished off a series at Fenway Park with his current team, the Kansas City Royals.
While Boston had their way in the series, sweeping the four-game set, Santana was 4-for-15 with a home run, a double and three runs batted in.
Overall this season, the 35-year-old switch-hitter is slashing .244/.364/.409 with a wRC+ of 113. While those numbers aren’t earth-shattering, it’s worth noting that he’s vastly underperforming his expected numbers. His actual slugging percentage is 74 points lower than his .483 expected; his .339 wOBA is 28 points lower than his .367 expected. He's also in the top nine percent in strikeout rate (14.3) and top four percent in walk rate (15.5).
Santana is most certainly not in the prime of his career anymore, but due just $10.5 million for 2022, he can make himself a very effective piece in this Red Sox lineup.
His .364 on-base percentage would rank third in Boston, behind only Xander Bogaerts and J.D Martinez. His 13 home runs would rank tied for third on the team, trailing only Rafael Devers (20) and Martinez (17).
There may have to be some gymnastics done to balance playing time between him and young first baseman Bobby Dalbec, but Santana could be just what the doctor ordered as the Red Sox leadoff hitter.
José Cisnero — RHP — Detroit Tigers
Cisnero, 32, has blossomed into one of the least talked about effective relievers in the sport. In fact, since the start of 2020, the right-hander has a FIP of 2.77 (24th among qualifying relievers) and a 3.35 SIERA (tied for 49th). He’s far from a world-beater, but he’s certainly not going to be a bullpen piece to build around if you’re the Detroit Tigers.
Being as he’s already 32 years old, now would be the perfect time to move him.
Enter the Boston Red Sox.
The Red Sox bullpen has been superb this season, posting an ERA of just 3.42 this season. En route to that number, they’ve established six arms they can use in high leverage spots––Josh Taylor, Adam Ottavino, Darwinzon Hernandez, Hirokazu Sawamura, Garrett Whitlock, Matt Barnes. Not to mention the return of Ryan Brasier looming.
However, they’ve ridden on the backs of Ottavino and Barnes a ton––both have at least 35 appearances. Cisnero, albeit with 37 outings, adds just one more potential arm that can soften the workload of those two righties.
The 32-year-old has a plus-fastball (97.0 mph on average) and a changeup that has been very effective in putting away lefties the past two seasons (albeit limited use). Adding him to the pen would just give them another arm that can get outs in high leverage, so they can manage workload a little better than they’ve been able to.
Brad Miller –– UTIL –– Philadelphia Phillies
Brad Miller is having a down year, make no mistake about that. His OBP is down 30 points, his slugging is down 51 and his wRC+ is down 22. However, should Boston be looking to add a versatile left-handed bat, he’s the perfect “buy-low because there’s a high ceiling” candidate.
For starters, he’s played games at first, second, third, right and left field this season. While he’s tallied negative-five defensive runs saved across all those positions, it’s worth noting that he could give half of the players on the roster a spell if need be.
Not only that, but he’s also managed to be incredibly productive against righties since 2018. While not consistently at the level it was at in 2019 (137 wRC+), he’s a great improvement over Bobby Dalbec’s 61 wRC+ at first base.
He can’t lead off, so that does take away from some of the appeal, but he does balance out the lineup against righties much more than Dalbec or Chavis would.