While the Red Sox are clearly trying to thread a needle at the upcoming MLB trade deadline, finding ways to bolster the pitching staff and fill holes without sacrificing too much of the team’s prospect pool–this is a team trying to both rebuild with youth and make the playoffs simultaneously–there has been precious little solid reporting on what the intentions are going into the final week of the deadline.
We know what they do not want to do: trade Jarren Duran, or for that matter, Wilyer Abreu and top prospects Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell. But we don’t know what they really intend to accomplish in the coming days.
Boston is currently holding onto the No. 3 spot in the A.L. wild card standings.
Red Sox Could Deal for Dalton Rushing
Now comes a report from veteran Red Sox insider Sean McAdam of MassLive, who notes that Boston and the team’s upcoming opponent–the Dodgers–are in “advancing” talks about a potential trade for L.A. catcher Dalton Rushing, about whom McAdam writes, “was considered by many to be the Dodgers’ top minor league prospect at the start of the season. He was promoted to the majors in mid-May, with the Dodgers designating popular veteran catcher Austin Barnes to make room for him.”
Rushing has been a disappointment thus far, hitting just .216 with a whopping 34 strikeouts in 74 at-bats. He is only 24 and had been stellar at the plate in the minors, batting .277 with a .938 OPS over four seasons. He hit .271 with 26 homers between Triple A and Double A last year.
Dodgers Scouting Red Sox Affiliate
McAdam reported that the Dodgers have had scouts lingering around the Red Sox’s Single A team in Greenville, presumably with an eye on shortstop prospect Franklin Arias–one of the top projected players in the Red Sox system–and lefty Brandon Clarke.
McAdam wrote: “Intriguingly, the Dodgers recently sent a second scouting supervisor to double up the organization’s coverage at Greenville, which could be a sign of advancing talks between the teams.”
No Faith in Connor Wong?
The Red Sox have obviously considered their long-term catching situation to be a concern, and don’t have much faith in last year’s starter, Connor Wong. That fueled the trade for Carlos Narvaez last winter, which has been a success all around.
But Narvaez is lacking a backup, and the Red Sox clearly want to have a tandem behind the plate that can manage the 162-game workload. They had top prospect Kyle Teel in the system, projected to be the catcher of the future for the team, but had to give him up to the White Sox as a centerpiece of the Garrett Crochet trade.
Rushing, despite his struggles, is young and obviously still has a high ceiling. Bringing him in via trade would be both a short- and long-term play behind the plate.
Red Sox Trade for Dodgers Top Prospect ‘Advancing’