Yankees Loosely Linked To Ex-Red Sox Fan Favorite As Trade Deadline Target

The move would make a disappointing season even more painful for Boston

Scott Neville | Jun 30, 2023

Yankees Loosely Linked To Ex-Red Sox Fan Favorite As Trade Deadline Target /

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Could the New York Yankees acquire a former Boston Red Sox World Series champion to bolster their already dominant bullpen?

The Athletic put together seven hypothetical trades for the Yankees to make at the Aug. 1 Major League Baseball trade deadline. One of which would sting for Red Sox Nation.

The trade would send current Chicago White Sox right-hander Joe Kelly to the Yankees for a trio of pitching prospects: Greg Weissert, Luis Gil and Carlos Lagrange.

"The righty reliever has been excellent with the White Sox this year, putting up a ton of strikeouts (11.5 K/9) with uncharacteristically low walk totals (2.5 BB/9)," The Athletic's Brendan Kuty wrote. "The 35-year-old will be a free agent after this season with a $1 million buyout of his $9.5 million team option for 2024.

Weissert has big stuff but the 28-year-old has struggled to get consistent time in the majors. Gil, 25, likely won’t pitch in the majors this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery in 2022, but some believe he has late-inning reliever upside. Lagrange, 20, is a 6-foot-7 lottery ticket with a big-time fastball who hasn’t pitched above complex ball yet."

Kelly's most notable moment outside of his postseason play was his fight against former Yankees utility man Tyler Austin at Fenway Park -- which he won handily. It would be interesting to see how fans in the Bronx would react to his presence -- though winning cures all.

While Kelly being traded to the Yankees certainly is a possibility, the bullpen in the Bronx already is elite and they will be focusing on offensive upgrades at the deadline.

Kelly would be a much better fit for the Red Sox, though they appear to be headed toward selling, not buying at the deadline barring a notable turnaround in July.

More MLB: Here's What Red Sox's Chaim Bloom Said He Needs From Players To Buy At Deadline

Published Jun 30, 2023

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