OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 29: Boston Red Sox trade target Ian Kennedy (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
Fresh off a dominating first half of the season, the Boston Red Sox continued their winning ways with a 4-0 victory over the New York Yankees last night to kick off a promising second half of the season. In a season where a lot has gone right, nothing has been sweeter then Boston’s 7-0 record against the Yankees so far this season.
Another reason for excitement this series was the promotions of Jarren Duran and Tanner Houck. While Duran will make his debut tonight, Houck was fantastic last night, going three innings in relief while picking up a save in the process.
While these two promotions could deter the Sox from making more moves than anticipated at the trade deadline, it would be foolish for Boston to put all their eggs in one basket. There are still some holes that need filling on this roster, and the trade deadline is the ideal place to patch them up.
One team that appears set to be heading into the deadline as a seller is the Texas Rangers. Sitting 20 games out of first place in the AL West, it would be a good idea for Texas to try to get some prospects in return for some of their top players. Let’s take a look at three players the Boston Red Sox could look to snag from the Rangers at the trade deadline.
Boston Red Sox Trade Target No. 3: Ian Kennedy
Ian Kennedy has turned himself into a jack-of-all-trades in the latter stage of his career. Kennedy was a solid innings eater as a starter for most of his career, but then found himself closing games for the Kansas City Royals during the 2019 season, posting a 30 save season. Kennedy has found himself in the bullpen since then, and has turned himself into quite a reliable closer for the Rangers this season.
As was the case for many players last season, Kennedy struggled in 2020 with the Royals, leading to the Rangers to snatch him up in free agency this offseason. After posting an awful 9.00 ERA last season, Kennedy has found his groove this season on a pretty bad Rangers team.
Kennedy has posted a 2.67 ERA and picked up 15 saves so far this season. His pitching style is more to contact rather than a pure strikeout pitcher at this point, but Kennedy does a great job at keeping the bases empty. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is 4.57 this season, which is the highest it has been throughout the entirety of his 14 year career.
At 36 years old, Kennedy would come in as a rental for the Sox at this point. But he offers the potential to be a great option in the backend of the bullpen, and you can’t have enough of those, especially when the playoffs roll around. Guys like Josh Taylor and Garrett Whitlock have been superb so far, but will that keep up in the playoffs?
The good news is that Kennedy would likely only cost a low level prospect or two considering his situation. He’s a veteran who has something to offer for a playoff team like Boston, and Texas would be wise to cash in while they can. Bullpen arms are at a premium nowadays, so the Sox would be wise to pick up Kennedy while they can.
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July 18, 2021 at 08:04AM
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Boston Red Sox Rumors: 3 Rangers players to target at Trade Deadline - Chowder and Champions
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