Red Sox Interested in Ken Giles, Kirby Yates

The Boston Red Sox are in serious need of bullpen assistance. Their relievers have combined to rank 18^th in MLB among bullpen ERA—blowing the fourth-most saves (18) in baseball and holding the third-worst save percentage (52.63).

Looking to address their bullpen woes, the Red Sox are reportedly interested in Toronto Blue Jays closer Ken Giles. They also are pursuing Kirby Yates of the San Diego Padres, though it seems unlikely he gets moved before the MLB trade deadline on July 31.

Yates, the 32-year-old All-Star, is under contract through the 2020 season. Yates has a major-league best 31 saves in 33 opportunities this season. He boasts a 1.05 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 70 strikeouts in 43 innings.

The Padres (47-52) have underachieved this season, but plan on competing in the NL West next year after signing Manny Machado in the offseason to compliment a roster flushed with young talent. The Red Sox would need to fork over significant assets to San Diego to acquire Yates.

A more reasonable target, Giles is also under team control through next season, but the Blue Jays (38-63) are in full-rebuild mode and are looking to stockpile young players. Giles owns a dazzling 1.64 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 57/10 K/BB ratio over 33 innings with the Blue Jays this season. The 28-year-old has 14 saves in 15 opportunities.

The Red Sox are pursuing Ken Giles in trade talks. (Evan Habeeb/USA Today Sports)

The Red Sox announced last week that Nathan Eovaldi would be the primary closer moving forward. The right-hander—who was activated from the 60-day injured list on Saturday after undergoing elbow surgery—was arguably the team’s most valuable player last postseason. He registered a 1.61 ERA in six appearances (two starts) across 22.1 innings in the playoffs, recording two wins against one loss to help the Red Sox capture the 2018 World Series.

If the Red Sox were to acquire a proven closer such as Yates or Giles, Eovaldi would presumably be moved into a setup role or back into the starting rotation.   

Red Sox Looking to Add Reliever

The Boston Red Sox are on pace to set a franchise record in wins. But that doesn’t mean they are completely satisfied with their current roster.

Bolstering their bullpen—which has been shaky in recent weeks—remains the top priority for Boston, according to multiple reports. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports and Jim Bowden of The Athletic claim that the Red Sox are keeping their eyes on many relief pitchers with the non-waiver trade deadline approaching on Tuesday afternoon.

Red Sox still determined to add relief help. Looking into yates, kela, ziegler and many, many others. Have some luxury tax concerns as they are at an MLB high $238M already (not that they haven’t spent well; they have by far baseballs best record)

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 30, 2018

#Phillies #RedSox #Astros #Mariners “in” on practically every reliever available from Kela to Barraclough to Rodney to Norris to Clippard to Yates to Romo to Stammen to Parker to Conley to Diekman to Ziegler should be an interesting last 36 hours until trade deadline 4pm et  Tues

— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenGM) July 30, 2018

The Red Sox are said to have significant interest in San Diego Padres relievers Craig Stammen and Kirby Yates. Boston recently scouted both pitchers, according to the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo. Stammen, who has posted a 2.63 ERA with 58 strikeouts on the season, and Yates, holding a 1.6 ERA with 50 K’s in 2018, are on affordable contracts. Stammen signed a two-year, $4.5 million contract before the season. Yates is earning just over $1 million and has a few arbitration trips remaining.

Bud Norris could be another target for Boston, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A free agent at the end of the year, Norris has registered a 3.14 ERA with a 41 percent ground-ball rate with the St. Louis Cardinals this season.

Bud Norris is having arguably the best season of his career. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

Miami Marlins reliever Brad Ziegler has also been linked to the Red Sox. Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports that Ziegler (3.98 ERA) has received interest from the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians, as well. He is also a free agent at season’s end.

The Red Sox boast a 74-33 record and a 5.5 game lead over the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East. They are on pace to win 112 games, which would be their fourth 100-win season in franchise history and first since 1946. The 1912 Red Sox hold the team-record for most wins in a season with 106.

But the postseason presents another challenge for a Boston team that has won just one playoff contest in their last two playoff series. Given the recent struggles of Joe Kelly, adding another arm in the pen may be necessary to get the Red Sox over the hump in late-October.