Red Sox Might Dump 7-Time All-Star In Trade To Mets, MLB Insider Says

The Boston Red Sox's season is already on life support.

So far, this season has been memorable for a combination of excruciating one-run losses, starting pitching blowups, and untimely injuries. And it's all led to a 33-36 record for the Red Sox, whose playoff odds have dipped below 20 percent on both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.

If Boston can't turn it around in short order, they could be forced to sell at the trade deadline, something they surely didn't plan on doing when they went out and acquired Alex Bregman, Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, and Aroldis Chapman this winter.

Chapman is the only one of the four who is on a one-year contract and performing well, so he'd likely be the first to go. And one National League contender looks like an early suitor for his services.

On Tuesday, insider Joel Sherman of the New York Post named Chapman among the possible early trade targets for the New York Mets, who own the NL's best record but have only one left-handed reliever in their current bullpen.

“It is hard to ignore Aroldis Chapmanif the Red Sox never get their act together," Sherman wrote. “Chapman had faced 24 lefty batters this year and struck out 13.

"And at 37, he was still averaging an MLB-best 100.1 mph with his sinker and 98.8 mph with his four-seamer. Chapman had a 34 percent strikeout rate overall, and his 8.7 walk rate would be the third-lowest of his career.”

With a 1.65 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings, Chapman would bring back a nice prospect haul, even as a rental. The Red Sox would much rather he throw high-leverage innings for them in the second half, but those innings won't matter if they can't string a bunch of wins together.

Will Chapman be in Queens by the end of July? It's up to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow to determine the best course of action.