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Red Sox Should Trade For This Royals Star If They Miss On Joe Ryan
Apr 16, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Logo on stadium seats prior to the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Atlanta Braves at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images William Purnell-Imagn Images

Two things are certain right now: the Boston Red Sox would love to have Joe Ryan, and the Minnesota Twins are going to make it extremely difficult to get him.

Ryan, a first-time All-Star with 2 1/2 years of team control remaining, is the kind of trade deadline acquisition contending teams dream about. But the Twins, who may not even become deadline sellers, are also keenly aware of that fact.

That's why on Wednesday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive projected that it would be nearly impossible for the Red Sox to acquire Ryan within the next two weeks.

However, Cotillo also hinted that trading for an impending free agent could be an option, and listed a handful of rental starters that Boston might be more capable of landing.

"A high-value running mate for (Garrett) Crochet (like Ryan) looks great on paper but the asking price will be insane (much more than just Jarren Duran)," Cotillo wrote. "The guess here is that the Red Sox, while willing to push for controllable options, instead find the market to be prohibitive and push for a high-floor rental.

"...Luckily for Breslow, there’s talent to be found on the rental market. Arizona’s Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, Kansas City’s Seth Lugo, Baltimore’s Charlie Morton and Pittsburgh’s Andrew Heaney would all help the group while not breaking the bank."

While all of these names could pan out to some degree, Lugo should be the clear choice for the Red Sox, and if there's any shot he's available, they've got to find a way to pivot to him assuming the price tag for Ryan is astronomical.

Lugo, 35, owns a 2.67 ERA in 101 innings this year, piling up 88 strikeouts. He doesn't have the dominant stuff of a Crochet or even a Ryan, but he's adept at racking up quality starts and with a pitch mix that ranges anywhere from six to 10 offerings during any given start, he keeps hitters perplexed.

Boston needs another starter. Even if Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello continue on the absurd hot streaks they've been reeling off, that leaves two rotation spots that aren't easily solved. Richard Fitts and Walker Buehler hold them right now, and Tanner Houck and Kyle Harrison could soon be in the mix.

The sooner the Red Sox find someone to step into the mix, the sooner they can decide which other starters can be converted to relievers during the playoff push, and which should stay stretched out at Triple-A. And Lugo would be the perfect innings eater to take pressure off the entire staff.


This article first appeared on Boston Red Sox on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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