Inside The Red Sox

Blue Jays All-Star Reportedly Available; Red Sox Are Logical Trade Partners

Boston could use the high-upside starting pitcher

Scott Neville

Blue Jays All-Star Reportedly Available; Red Sox Are Logical Trade Partners
Blue Jays All-Star Reportedly Available; Red Sox Are Logical Trade Partners /
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Could the Boston Red Sox pull off an inter-division trade to bolster their ailing rotation?

The Blue Jays have a right-hander with Cy Young potential on the roster that reportedly has fallen out of favor in Toronto.

"Some rival executives, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to avoid charges of tampering, say the Blue Jays are open to moving right-hander Alek Manoah," The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal wrote Sunday. "How open remains to be seen.

"The relationship between Manoah and the Jays appeared to deteriorate last season, when the pitcher regressed from his stellar 2022 campaign. Manoah, 25, twice was sent to the minors and received platelet-rich plasma injections in his right arm to end his season."

Manoah entered the 2023 season with a career 25-9 record, 2.60 ERA (157 ERA+), 307-to-91 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .198 batting average against and a 1.01 WHIP in 308 1/3 innings. At that time, the right-hander appeared to be one of the top young aces in the game, headed for superstardom. 

Coming off a third-place finish in American League Cy Young voting -- and earning votes for the MVP -- Manoah was expected to be a bona fide ace in 2023. Instead, he posted a 5.87 ERA with a 79-to-59 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .269 batting average against and a horrendous 1.74 WHIP in 87 1/3 innings across 19 games.

If the Red Sox were to inquire, they could not bank on Manoah as a frontline starter for 2024. However, the 25-year-old with four more seasons of team control would be the ultimate buy-low addition for Boston. He has a legitimate Cy Young ceiling and could be non-tendered or traded in a year if his career continues to derail. 

Manoah and Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo have some semblance of a rivalry, wouldn't it be so fitting if they were traded for each other? That said, for Verdugo to be involved, Boston likely would have to get more than just Manoah after the pitiful season he just had. Toronto has been in the market for outfield help and Verdugo certainly qualifies.

It would be preferable to see the Red Sox attempt to make this move without their right fielder involved but adding Verdugo into the mix would be the quickest pathway to a deal.

More MLB: Ex-Red Sox Slugger 'Could Come Back' To Give Boston Right-Handed Power

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Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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