The Boston Red Sox are a very interesting team heading into the month of June. Until last week, they were one of the hottest teams in all of Major League Baseball. The Red Sox offense has been nearly unstoppable in the American League over the first two months of the season. David Ortiz doesn’t look like he’s playing his final year. Both Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. had hitting streaks that nearly reached 30 almost simultaneously. Simply put, they’re not struggling to score runs.
Instead, the Red Sox are going to have a hard time keeping their opponents runs off the board. Their pitching needs to improve dramatically if they’re going to become a serious contender for a deeper run into the playoffs in October. The Red Sox are going to need some outside help to come in and fix their rotation because their pitching is either inconsistent or disappointing.
Joe Kelly has been demoted to the Pawtucket Red Sox. Clay Buchholz has also been demoted to the bullpen. David Price doesn’t have the impressive stats the Red Sox thought he would have when they signed him this offseason. Rick Porcello and Steven Wright have been holding things together, and Eduardo Rodriguez just returned from an injury. He will help them a great deal, but the Red Sox need to look elsewhere to fix their starting rotation and let the Red Sox’s bats do their work.
James Shields was a name a lot of analysts and fans continuously brought up, but he ended up going to the White Sox instead of the Red Sox. Now that his name has been taken out of consideration, a younger and even better name has entered the realm of possibility for the Boston Red Sox. According to MLB Trade Rumors , Julio Teheran from the Braves has emerged as a great fit for the Red Sox starting rotation, and he could turn the entire thing around.
It was reported here at the Inquisitr that the Atlanta Braves were receiving calls and offers from several teams for the 25-year-old Julio Teheran. Thus far in 2016, he’s had a very good season despite being on one of the worst teams in baseball. His record is one win with six losses, but most of his other stats are strong. His earn run average is a few points under three. His opponent’s batting average is just above 200, and his WHIP is 1.05.
Obviously, the Braves are quite fond of Teheran, and he’s expected to be a big piece of their rebuilding. Their general manager, John Coppolella, recently told FOX Sports that it would take a tremendous offer for the Braves to move Teheran.
“The days of us trading players like Teheran for prospects are over. We need to get better at the major league level. We would have to be overwhelmed to move Teheran.”
For the Boston Red Sox to essentially steal Teheran, they’d have to be willing to give up a lot. Any offer the Red Sox make is bound to have at least one of their top prospects like their outfield prospect Andrew Benintendi or infielder Yoan Moncada. If that’s not enough with other pieces, the Red Sox may have to add Travis Shaw or Blake Swihart after he returns from his ankle injury. Needless to say, the Red Sox are going to need to give up a ton to get him.
There is no question that Teheran is a great young pitcher, but there are a lot of question marks about trading so much for one piece when Rodriguez has just returned for the Red Sox, and David Price’s numbers are going to be much stronger as the season enters the summer months. For now, it remains a rumor. However, Julio Teheran could be pitching in Fenway Park if Dave Dombrowski thinks he’d look better in October than sitting at home in Atlanta.
[Photo By John Bazemore/AP Images]