A very slim Boston Red Sox pitching rotation may be bolstered before the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
With a potential opt-out on Friday looming for Minnesota Twins Triple-A affiliate St. Paul Saints starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel, the southpaw may end up in Boston. “Not insane to think Red Sox could have some interest as a stopgap guy.” MassLive’s Chris Cotillo tweeted Thursday.
Keuchel has an impressive 0.90 ERA, a 17-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a .256 batting average against and a 1.40 WHIP in 20 innings pitched across four games.
The 35-year-old has been lights-out this season for the Saints, but has yet to step on a Major League diamond this season.
If he’s able to play at this pace in the majors, he could be a crucial part of a Red Sox playoff push if chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom made an effort to sign him. Currently, the rotation for Boston is thin and could seriously benefit from a former Cy Young winner for not just his talent, but leadership as well.
After a multitude of injuries, Brayan Bello, James Paxton and Kutter Crawford have been tasked with being a more than unideal three-man rotation.
The three have found success, but there’s only so much you can ask of them with the cards they’ve been dealt. If no moves are made, the earliest that the starting pitching trio could get help is Aug. 8, when Chris Sale is eligible to come off of the 60-day injured list.
As of now, there are no further updates on where Keuchel stands with the Twins organization, but the clock is ticking for him to make a decision.
