Three Veteran Starters Red Sox Should Target To Fill Innings Gap At Trade Deadline

[Nick John]

Heading into the final weekend before the MLB trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox have every reason to continue tinkering with their roster. Despite having one of the best rotations in the major leagues, the Red Sox would be wise to build upon their strength, especially with the unknown return of ace Garrett Crochet and the possibility of their young starters regressing due to the workload of pitching career high innings. Add to that the loss of Connelly Early (who was traded to Washington), and it's clear that the team will need innings coverage down the stretch.

To remedy that, it would be wise for the team to double down on their strength and acquire a veteran starter who can alleviate some of the responsibility from the young starters. Likewise, due to the uncertainty pertaining to the upcoming CBA negotiations between the owners and MLBPA, it might be in the Red Sox's best interest to pursue just rental arms.

Today we’ll look at three veteran rentals the team could look to acquire to help their rotation in their pursuit of the playoffs.

Robbie Ray, LHP, San Francisco

While the rotation is already filled with left-handed starters, Ray would be an addition that pushes the quality of the pitching staff to another level. Through 21 games, 20 of them starts, Ray has been the ace for San Francisco as he’s gone 9-6 with a 3.16 ERA in 116 2/3 innings. His strikeouts have dropped this year (20.6% K-rate), but he’s managed to work around it. While he’s no longer the pitcher who was a Cy Young, Ray would slot in nicely at the back end of the rotation and provide quality innings. The Red Sox would be on the hook for around $9.5 million for the remainder of the season.  

There is a command concern, as he’s walking opponents at an 11.4% rate and relying on a lot of contact. Despite that, his off-speed and breaking pitches have performed well. The Red Sox like good spin on pitches and good velocity on fastballs. Ray’s fastball sits at 93.2 mph, lower in velocity than most of the Red Sox rotation, but opponents are hitting just .235 against it and have struck out 41 times.

His underlying metrics are a bit concerning and point towards a possible regression despite how well he’s been pitching, but with Boston’s fantastic defense, some concerns could be mitigated. On top of that, as a potential back-of-the-rotation arm, all you’re looking for out of Ray is to provide five or six innings of competitive ball every time he goes out there.

Casey Mize, RHP, Detroit

Compared to Ray, Mize might be the best available option for Boston. That’s not to mention he checks off a lot of boxes for what Breslow looks for in a pitcher. Standing at 6-foot-3, he creates 6.8 feet of extension. His fastball doesn’t reach quite as high of a velocity as other starters, as it averages just 93.5 mph, but he can get players out with it. Opponents are hitting just .202 against the fastball and the only pitch opponents are hitting above .250 is against his sinker (.256).

Along with his fastball, Mize’s slider and splitter have been near untouchable, as batters are hitting .198 and .213 respectively against them. Naturally, he's a reliable strikeout pitcher, shown by a 24.9% strikeout rate. He’s also been able to generate whiffs when needed, sitting on a 27.8% rate on the season. What may be most impressive is his ability to limit walks, having allowed just 19 on the season, good for a 5.6% rate.

Along with his outstanding control, Mize has been able to limit hard contact against him, allowing it just 36% of the time while batters have only been able to barrel up his pitches at a 6.4% rate.

The one major concern for Mize is his durability. Since making his debut in 2020, he’s only pitched 28 or more games twice: in 2021 and last season. Innings-wise, his career high is 150 1/3, which he set during the 2021 season and in 16 starts this year he’s pitched just 86 2/3 innings. On the flip side, that means the right-hander is a ways off from his career high and could provide the team with plenty of innings down the stretch.

Brady Singer, RHP, Cincinnati

While Singer wouldn’t be the first choice to be acquired from the Reds’ rotation, he is the most likely to be moved should the team sell; Cincinnati is currently 16 games back of the NL Central and six games back of the third NL Wild Card but would need to leapfrog six teams to get into a playoff position. Singer, who will be a free agent after the season, could be moved in the right deal while opening a rotation spot for one of the Reds' young pitchers in Triple-A.

Singer has been a middle-of-the-road pitcher this season, making 21 starts with a 4.35 ERA in 107 2/3 innings. He doesn’t really do anything outstanding and relies heavily on his defense, as shown by a 19.4% strikeout rate. If there is one thing that Singer has done well this season, it's limit walks, allowing just 32 of them (good for a 7% rate).

Singer would come with some risks: his fastball averages just 91.3 mph and while seldom used, is being hit at a .400 clip this season. His arsenal is typically a three-pitch mix of his sinker, slider and sweeper, with a cutter and four-seam fastball mixed in sometimes. Only one of those offerings (the slider) has been an above-average pitch this season.

Despite the concerns, Singer is a workhorse by today’s standards. He’s pitched at least 153 innings each season since 2022 and has made 29+ starts in three consecutive years. As far as rotation stabilizers go, it's hard to beat that kind of consistency.

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[southpaw777]

I’m in on Mize. No on the other two.

[JoeBrady]

Buy low on Bieber.  The last outing is, imo, an outlier.  The downside is that he eats innings, which we need.  The upside is a legit playoff pitcher.

[Nick John]

4 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

Buy low on Bieber.  The last outing is, imo, an outlier.  The downside is that he eats innings, which we need.  The upside is a legit playoff pitcher.

I wanted to stay away from pitchers on teams within the division. Otherwise I would have included Gausman who is my top want as a rental pitcher but I doubt Toronto would send him here.

[Larry Cook]

I think this is the year to get a high quality pending free agent starter. 

[moonslav59]

9 hours ago, southpaw777 said:

I’m in on Mize. No on the other two.

I fully agree.

We cannot trade for a pitcher having a bad year and hope they turn it around post trade.

[JoeBrady]

13 hours ago, Larry Cook said:

I think this is the year to get a high quality pending free agent starter. 

OTOH, we might also want someone that will replace Gray next year.

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

OTOH, we might also want someone that will replace Gray next year.

High quality rental pitchers are very costly. Imagine the price for a controlled pitcher.

[JoeBrady]

8 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

High quality rental pitchers are very costly. Imagine the price for a controlled pitcher.

Sure, but if our 2027 Plan A (Red will let us know what that is) is to add an SP, then the 2027 anticipated cost must be deducted from the 2026 cost, to see what the marginal cost is.  Gray was a fine trade, but still cost us 3 mediocre+ prospects.

[JerseyJoey]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

High quality rental pitchers are very costly. Imagine the price for a controlled pitcher.

Agree.  This will be a fill-in to pick up some SP innings they need as the innings leash limits Tolle, Bennett and Sandoval.   He won't start a playoff game unless he surprises (as Crochet can't come back).

Think Nick Pivetta or Jake Peavy.  Sure would be nice if Kutter Crawford or Tanner Houck could pitch.

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

Sure, but if our 2027 Plan A (Red will let us know what that is) is to add an SP, then the 2027 anticipated cost must be deducted from the 2026 cost, to see what the marginal cost is.  Gray was a fine trade, but still cost us 3 mediocre+ prospects.

I want us to get a pitcher and know it will be an overpay. 
the Gray trade was a winter deal. It will cost more now. That was my point.

[Old Red]

2 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

Sure, but if our 2027 Plan A (Red will let us know what that is) is to add an SP, then the 2027 anticipated cost must be deducted from the 2026 cost, to see what the marginal cost is.  Gray was a fine trade, but still cost us 3 mediocre+ prospects.

Why wait for me when bresLOW will tell you first?🤫

[Old Red]

2 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

OTOH, we might also want someone that will replace Gray next year.

Did Brez say Gray is going somewhere? I must have missed that statement. Got a link to that?🤔

[notin]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

Did Brez say Gray is going somewhere? I must have missed that statement. Got a link to that?🤔

Gray is a free agent.  

Until Breslow extends him, Gray is leaving before next year. Unless his mutual option gets mutually exercised, but that almost never happens.

None of this needs to be confirmed by Breslow…

[JoeBrady]

2 hours ago, Old Red said:

Did Brez say Gray is going somewhere? I must have missed that statement. Got a link to that?🤔

Gray is a FA after this year.  Just thought you'd want to know.

[JoeBrady]

2 hours ago, Old Red said:

Why wait for me when bresLOW will tell you first?🤫

Breslow doesn't talk to me, so I don't know what his Plan A will be.

[SoxPhan]

Something about Ray rubs me the wrong way, and I'd prefer a righty, but I either Mize or Singer would be excellent gets. 

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

7 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Breslow doesn't talk to me, so I don't know what his Plan A will be.

According to one of my favorite rock bands there is no Planet B.

[SoxPhan]

On 7/31/2026 at 4:28 PM, JoeBrady said:

Buy low on Bieber.  The last outing is, imo, an outlier.  The downside is that he eats innings, which we need.  The upside is a legit playoff pitcher.

I was pretty keen on Bieber last week, but then he threw 6 walks in the first inning and I remembered he does that sometimes, and I soured quickly. The price would have to be quite low for me.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

6 minutes ago, SoxPhan said:

Something about Ray rubs me the wrong way, and I'd prefer a righty, but I either Mize or Singer would be excellent gets. 

There's some good to very  good gets, but there's only one excellent get. His name is Skubal. Unfortunately, the Tigers are gonna want a good proven ML starter as part of the trade package.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

1 minute ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

There's some good to very  good gets, but there's only one excellent get. His name is Skubal. Unfortunately, the Tigers are gonna want a good proven ML starter as part of the trade package.

I seriously doubt they'd be interested in either Bello or Sandoval.

[SoxPhan]

1 minute ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

There's some good to very very good gets, but there's only one excellent get. His name is Skubal. Unfortunately, the Tigers are gonna want a good proven ML starter as part of the trade package.

I meant in terms of the market, our needs, value, etc,

Skubal would be an astronomical get, but it ain't happening. 
 

[moonslav59]

33 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

According to one of my favorite rock bands there is no Planet B.

There is a Planet Claire, though.

[moonslav59]

44 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Gray is a FA after this year.  Just thought you'd want to know.

Where did I say Gray was not a free agent? You guys overanalyze everything! The guys from my gym say you guys are nuts and I am always right.

- from my out of body nightmare

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

28 minutes ago, SoxPhan said:

I meant in terms of the market, our needs, value, etc,

Skubal would be an astronomical get, but it ain't happening. 
 

There should have been only one 'very' in front of good.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

6 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

There is a Planet Claire, though.

I wonder if Bello is gonna be the Planet Claire each time Suarez starts?

[moonslav59]

10 minutes ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

I wonder if Bello is gonna be the Planet Claire each time Suarez starts?

But she ISN’T!!!

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, SoxPhan said:

I was pretty keen on Bieber last week, but then he threw 6 walks in the first inning and I remembered he does that sometimes, and I soured quickly. The price would have to be quite low for me.

I like to think I have the heart of a riverboat gambler in the old west.  6 weeks either means he is doomed, or it means I'm getting really good pot odds.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

Where did I say Gray was not a free agent? You guys overanalyze everything! The guys from my gym say you guys are nuts and I am always right.

- from my out of body nightmare

That was addressed to Red.

[Old Red]

1 hour ago, JoeBrady said:

Gray is a FA after this year.  Just thought you'd want to know.

Yes with a $10M buyout, but he hasn’t left yet, so he doesn’t need to be replaced. Bres may want him back especially since he has to pay $10M anyway.