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

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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