Red Sox Get Unfortunate News on Bullpen-Saving Trade Target

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Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora may have missed out on a bullpen upgrade.

With the 2025 MLB trade deadline less than two weeks away, the Boston Red Sox are expected by baseball experts to be among the “most aggressive buyers” when it comes to adding new players, as they attempt to fulfill the lofty expectations set for the team in the preseason.

But one player, a bullpen arm who would be extremely familiar to the Red Sox, may already be off the table as a trade acquisition, going on the 15-day injured list Monday with a calf strain.

Taking a 10-game winning streak into the All-Star break, the Red Sox launched themselves back into the thick of the playoff race, climbing from eight games out of first place in the American League East on June 29 to just three back on July 13.

Red Sox Have Plenty of Trade Deadline Needs to Fill

After losing two of their first three games after the break, the Red Sox are back to five games out, and are clinging to a Wild Card slot, tied with the Seattle Mariners.

Their needs are various. Starting pitching is always at a deadline premium. Baseball operations chief Craig Breslow has publicly stated that he will be in the market for “impact starting pitching.”

In addition, for Boston, a backup catcher is also on the agenda. Current No. 2 catcher Connor Wong is having a historically poor season at the plate. Not only is he batting .144 with a .372 OPS, but he has not managed a single hit with runners in scoring position, going 0-30, with three walks. He does have a sacrifice fly, which accounts for his lone RBI on the year.

Boston could also use an upgrade at first base, where a platoon of Abraham Toro and Romy Gonzalez has filled in for Triston Casas, whose season ended with a severe knee injury on May 2.

But according to NBC Sports Boston writer Justin Legler, Breslow “should also explore options to upgrade the bullpen. Reliable relief pitching is critical for a deep postseason run, and the Red Sox have a chance to make a serious playoff push in the wide-open American League.”

The Red Sox appear settled at the back of the bullpen with the reemergence of 37-year-old fireballer Aroldis Chapman as one of MLB’s most dominating closers.

But getting games to Chapman has fallen largely to righty Garrett Whitlock, who has struck out 58 over 46 1/3 innings with a 3.30 ERA, making him the most reliable set-up pitcher in the Boston bullpen.

Whitlock Needs Help Carrying Set-Up Burden

Whitlock is, however, coming off of his second elbow surgery in five years. He has also gone through a season-ending hip surgery in 2022.

This season the Red Sox are asking a lot of Whitlock. He has already thrown 815 pitches, more than all but five relievers in MLB. His 46 1/3 innings ranks him 18th among all relief pitchers.

According to Legler as well as other Red Sox observers, Breslow may have been targeting Texas Rangers right-hander Chris Martin as bullpen help to take some of the burden off of Whitlock. Martin spent the last two seasons in Boston as the primary set-up man for closer Kenley Jansen, before signing as a free agent with Texas.

Unfortunately, if Breslow indeed was interested in a trade for the 39-year-old Martin — a control specialist who has walked only 51 batters in 381 Major League innings over his 10-year career — he appears to have missed his opportunity.

On Monday, the Rangers sent Martin to the 15-day injured list with a calf muscle strain. Martin suffered the injury during a appearance Sunday in the Rangers 2-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

Martin, who had put together an impressive 2.36 ERA in 34 1/3 innings, will not be eligible to return until August 5, but the Rangers gave no timeline for when they believe Martin will be ready.

Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering Japan Pro Baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin