July 31, 2007: Traded RHP Joel Pineiro and cash to St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later; traded LHP Kason Gabbard, OF David Murphy, and OF Engel Beltre to Texas Rangers for RHP Eric Gagne.
July 30, 2006: Traded RHP Luis Mendoza to Texas Rangers for RHP Bryan Corey.
July 30, 2005: Traded Kenny Perez and Kyle Bono to Arizona Diamondbacks for OF Jose Cruz and cash.
The Red Sox have realistic World Series title aspirations for the second straight season, but there is still one big area of weakness within the hardball powerhouse: the eighth-inning relief role.
Entering last night, the Sox are second in the AL with 507 runs scored this season, and Boston’s assembled starting staff is third in the American League with a 3.74 team ERA. But the bullpen is 11th in the league with a decidedly mediocre 4.02 ERA, and the road bullpen ERA totals are even more unsightly at a 4.75 clip.
That statistic might partially illustrate why the Sox are enduring their worst road performances in recent memory, but it also speaks to a dire need for setup men.
Twenty-three year-old Justin Masterson is a name that has entered the mix for the bullpen as Sox management scours for middle relief solutions, and Hideki Okajima — and his 0.00 ERA during the month of July — deserves one last look in his old eighth inning role.
If the Sox can’t find an in-house solution to the oozing bullpen wound, then there are a handful of available relievers that come along with sky-high price tags on the trading market. The top drawer names will most assuredly cost the Sox a top prospect in the vein of Triple-A right-hander Michael Bowden or Double-A first baseman Lars Anderson, but here are the usual suspects:
Brian Fuentes
The Colorado Rockies lefty is effective against both lefties and righties and has saved at least 20 games over the past three seasons. Entering last night, he has been lights out in July with seven innings pitched, no hits, no walks and 13 strikeouts. Fuentes will come with the highest price tag given his closing experience, and should be a Type A free agent after the season.
Damaso Marte
The flavor of the month that seems to be piquing the Sox interest, Marte has been a name mentioned in trade rumors over the last two seasons. The left-hander has been more effective against righties (.205 batting average against) rather than lefties (.255 batting average against) this season, and has an unsettling 6.52 road ERA.
Ron Mahay
The 37-year-old former Sox farmhand has built a career as an effective left-hander, and is enjoying one of his best seasons with a 1.78 ERA and 16 holds in 42 games. Mahay is signed for next season at $4 million and would need to be pried away from the Royals.
