Are you hoping the Boston Red Sox make a big splash ahead of Wednesday's MLB trade deadline? You may have to settle for a small ripple.
The Red Sox now are "unlikely" to trade for New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz and instead plan to target "lesser names" on the bullpen market, according to multiple reports Tuesday.
That's a notable development, as the Red Sox reportedly were the team "most invested" in landing Diaz as of Monday night. Boston owns the worst save percentage in baseball, and Diaz is on a relatively cheap deal ($607,425 in 2019) with team control through 2022.
But for that reason, the Mets likely would demand a hefty trade package for the 25-year-old closer. And as The Boston Globe's Alex Speier wrote Monday night, the Red Sox may be hesitant to deplete their farm system or deplete their core to acquire him.
Boston Red Sox
"One person familiar with the Red Sox’ thinking suggested that they felt a smaller deal to supplement the bullpen was more likely than a target who would come with long-term control such as Diaz," Speier wrote.
Raisel Iglesias and Shane Greene also are under long-term control, which would raise their price tags. But president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski still could target a quality rental such as San Francisco Giants left-hander Will Smith or Toronto Blue Jays closer Ken Giles.
It appears the defending World Series champs aren't willing to spend big to address their reliever need, however.
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