Red Sox Could Trade World Series Hero Back To Dodgers, MLB Insider Warns

It's beginning to feel like a doom and gloom season for the Boston Red Sox.

At 29-34, the Red Sox sit five games out of playoff position and 10 games out of the American League East title hunt as of Wednesday afternoon. They've lost 17 of 23 one-run games, and they've been walked off seven times.

Now that June has arrived, the vultures have begun to circle. If the Red Sox fall much further out of the race, they may have to make the difficult choice to sell at the trade deadline. It would be a massive step back for a team that had aspirations of a deep playoff run this season.

An obvious name who would be on the trade block if the Red Sox sold is starting pitcher Walker Buehler, who signed a one-year, $21.05 million contract before the season. And one insider believes he could be headed right back where he came from.

On Tuesday, ESPN's Jeff Passan named Buehler as the "best fit" for the Los Angeles Dodgers--the team he pitched with for the first seven seasons of his excellent career--at this year's Jul. 31 trade deadline.

"(The Dodgers) don't build their team for regular-season wins. They want to put together the most devastating 26-man squad for the postseason. And they saw last year what Buehler turns into in October," Passan wrote.

"The four shutout innings against the Mets. Five more against the Yankees. And then the final three outs to lock down the World Series title. Any sort of reunion would necessitate a Red Sox collapse, and as bad as they look right now, that's premature."

After he had a 5.38 ERA in the regular season last year, Buehler turned into a demon in the playoffs. And his 4.46 mark so far this year may be only marginally better, but the Dodgers would have as much confidence as anybody that he could recapture his magic in October.

In this scenario, the Red Sox would simply be looking to extract as many quality prospects as possible for a veteran with playoff pedigree, health concerns, and diminishing velocity. It's not a place they want to be, but it could be where they're headed if they don't right the ship.