Who Can The Red Sox Still Target For Third Base?
After being linked to Todd Frazier for the past two weeks, the Red Sox missed out on the power hitting third baseman. Instead, the god damn Yankees decided to swoop in and make a deal for him, David Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle last night. As the trade deadline approaches us, the Red Sox still have some holes to fill if they want to make a deep playoff run. Here are a couple options they could look at to fill their hole at third base:
Martín Prado, Miami Marlins
Much like Frazier, the Red Sox have been linked to Martin Prado over the last few weeks. He was just placed on the 10-Day DL with a sprained right knee, but I don’t think it’s worth worrying about too much. He’s only batting .250 this year along with 2 HR’s so he wouldn’t bring any power to the Sox lineup. But he would definitely provide them with a solid glove on the infield, while also giving them more depth at third. If they don’t have to give up too much I wouldn’t hate this move.
Asdrubal Cabrera, New York Mets
Mets will give Red Spx Astrubal Cabera. SH, 3B-2B, 9 HR, hits LHP
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) July 19, 2017
Peter Gammons tweeted out today that the Sox already traded for Cabrera, who can play 2B and 3B. This report hasn’t been confirmed by anyone else, so it probably isn’t true yet. If they are to get Cabrera, he would provide them with a bit more of a pop in the lineup than Prado would. He only has 9 homers, but that would give him the 7th most on a team who is dead last in home runs in the American League. His versatility when it comes to playing the infield would also be a nice thing to have.
Eduardo Nunez, San Fransisco Giants
Here is another reported target for the Red Sox. Nunez is currently batting .295 with 4 HRs and 26 RBIs. He also has 17 stolen bases, which is good enough for 10th in the MLB. He doesn’t provide you with much offensive power, but I wouldn’t mind having his speed around the bases and the defensive depth at third base.
Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles
This is a pipe dream IMO, but ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that he thinks the Orioles should explore this option. This is one guy that I would potentially unload some of the farm system for. It has been an extremely down year for Baltimore, who currently are sitting eight games out of first place in the AL East. They have made it known that they are willing to sell on all of their relieving pitchers, so could Machado be on the market as well? At just 25 years old, he could be a cornerstone piece for the Sox to build around at third base for years to come. He’s only batting .249 this year, but he has 18 HRs (more than any Red Sox player) and 48 RBIs to go along with it.
The Red Sox honestly shouldn’t even be in this position. Dave Dombrowski is a dumbass for trading Travis Shaw to Milwaukee because he bet on Pablo Sandoval playing third base this year. Shaw is lighting it up for the Brewers, Sandoval was let go, and Tyler Thornburg had season-ending arm surgery. Not one of Dombrowski’s best moves in hindsight, but nonetheless, I expect him to make some sort of move before the deadline.
Written By: Nick Cherico (@NickCherico2)