With Nathan Eovaldi moving to the bullpen once he returns from the injured list, the Red Sox are left with a void in the starting rotation.
That means they could shift their focus at the trade deadline to adding a low-cost starter rather than a reliever. In fact, it appears Boston may already be surveying its options.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Red Sox and Padres were the only two teams to send scouts to Detroit on June 26 for a matchup between Tigers starter Matthew Boyd and Rangers starter Mike Minor.
Rosenthal writes:
For what it’s worth, the Padres and Red Sox were the only teams to fly in scouts to Detroit for the June 26 start between two potential trade candidates, Tigers left-hander Matthew Boyd and Rangers lefty Mike Minor.
The intent of scouting missions is not always as clear as it seems – evaluators sometimes focus on less-than-obvious targets. Boyd certainly did not help his value in June by allowing 10 home runs in 29 innings and having his ERA increase from 2.85 to 3.72.
Boyd, a 28-year-old left-hander, started the season off strong but has struggled for the lowly Tigers as of late. He has a 3.72 ERA with 129 strikeouts in 101 2/3 innings pitched.
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As for Minor, the veteran southpaw has impressed in his age 31 season posting a 2.54 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 117 innings. The Rangers dealing Minor seems less likely than the Tigers trading Boyd as Texas very much remains in the mix for an American League Wild Card spot.
For what it's worth, Minor tossed a complete game and allowed only one run in the Rangers' 4-1 win over the Tigers on June 26. Boyd tossed seven innings while allowing four runs and striking out 11.
Until Boston adds another arm, you can expect a combination of spot-starters such as Hector Velazquez and Steven Wright to take the mound in the fifth rotation slot.
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