A Call to Arms

With another subpar performance from Andrew Miller on Tuesday night, it seems more and more likely that the Red Sox will be actively pursuing starting pitching to improve their rotation before the July 31^st trade deadline.  Although the Red Sox have managed to achieve the best record in the American League to this point, the continuing health concerns Surrounding Clay Buccholz and Wakefield’s escalating ERA have placed a renewed and vigorous urgency to improve the current status of the Red Sox rotation.

While Wakefield has enjoyed moderate success since stepping in for the injured Daisuke Matsuzaka, his 6-3 record is a little deceiving due to the astronomical run support the Boston offense has provided him.  The mediocre performances will usually be sufficient against inferior opponents but once the competition level is raised, his contributions cannot be expected to continue to yield such positive results.

So what’s the solution?  Unfortunately for the Red Sox, this year’s depth of starting pitching talent available for hire is fairly thin.  Therefore the limited options combined with the numerous teams desperately searching for starting pitchers could make finding a solution to this problem incredibly difficult.

The most prominent name floating around the league is Ubaldo Jimenez.  A pitching phenomenon over the first half of last season, his production has been on a steady decline ever since. His underwhelming season has left him with a 6-9 record with a 4.20 ERA so far.  Given the fact that he is one of the most notable pitchers being shopped, the price for teams to acquire him should be pretty steep.  This does not mean that a trade to Boston would be impossible, but it does make it a rather unlikely destination.

Another pitcher people seem to think would be a viable option is Hiroki Kuroda.  Trapped on an L.A. Dodger team about to collapse under immense financial distress, Kuroda has put together a very solid statistical season.  Further demonstrating the debacle that is the Dodgers, his very respectable 3.19 ERA has earned him a record of 6-12 this season.  His numbers certainly warrant the attention that will be paid to him over the next few days, but a no-trade clause and no American League experience lead me to believe that Boston would be wise to search for their solution elsewhere.

If it were up to me, that search would be directed to southern Florida.  Not only is the weather great down there this time of year, but their baseball team has a pitcher that could be just what the Sox need down the stretch.  Anibal Sanchez, of the Florida Marlins, should be a familiar name to loyal Sox fans.  A once highly-touted prospect within the Red Sox organization, he was one of the players included in the package that landed Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell.

A 2001 draft pick by the Red Sox, the 27 year-old has quietly put up decent numbers since taking his talents down to South Beach.  The Marlins are on a train headed nowhere fast and could be willing to deal some of their big league talent to replenish their farm system.  Their focus has shifted to the future as they are hoping to provide their fans with a young, new and exciting team to compete when they move into their newly constructed stadium.  

He currently has a 6-3 record with a 3.60 ERA in a very tough NL East division.  His strikeout-to-walk numbers in particular are very impressive.  He has struck out 138 batters while walking only 39.  He is definitely a much more attractive option given his age, affordability and previous stint in the organization.  He is not one of the more recognizable names being tossed about so that could positively affect the price the Sox would have to pay in order to get him.

No rumors have really been generated linking Sanchez to the Sox as a possible trade target, but if I were Theo Epstein (and trust me, I wish that I were), I would turn my attention toward a deal such as this.  It’s a far less risky alternative to the typical over-the-hill, overpaid pitchers that are exchanged this time of year like unwanted fruit cups at elementary school lunch tables.

This year instead of making the move that makes the biggest splash at the trade deadline, the Sox need to keep it simple and make the move that makes the most sense.  This day and age there is far too much attention paid to the name rather than the numbers behind the name and Anibal’s numbers just make sense.