Boston Red Sox: Should Padres Trade Kirby Yates to Boston?

The Boston Red Sox bullpen has played major hole this season but help may be on the way as they’re interested in Kirby Yates. Does a trade with San Diego really make sense for both sides?

The Boston Red Sox‘s Achilles heel has been their pitching this season. In an effort to address this part of the team, the team is looking to add another arm. One such pitcher they seem very interested in is Kirby Yates.

Yates has been one of baseball’s great stories over the past couple of seasons. He was a journeyman in the Yankees bullpen who never became comfortable with his slider, but the San Diego Padres took a chance on him and signed him, giving him the opportunity to be their 8th inning guy behind then All-Star closer Brad Hand.

Hand was then shipped to Cleveland for top catching prospect Francisco Mejia.

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That gave Yates another opportunity. To be the team’s closer.

Ever since he took over the role he has become one of the best —if not the best— closer in all of baseball.

This season he leads the MLB in saves and has helped his young team to playoff contention.

San Diego has been scuffling as of late, dropping back to 5 games out of the Wild Card so their dreams of making the postseason for the first time in more than a decade have drifted away.

So will the best closer in baseball become available? Who knows but what we do know is the defending World Series champs are interested.

But does a trade make sense for both sides? Yes for Boston. No for San Diego.

The Red Sox bullpen has been absolutely disappointing in their first season without Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly at the back of the bullpen, so much so that Alex Cora has said Nathan Eovaldi (a starter) will be the team’s closer upon return from the IL.

If the Red Sox were to acquire Kirby Yates they would be the obvious favorites to win the Wild Card and could even give the Yankees a run for their money for the division.

On the other hand, the San Diego Padres would not trade Yates to the Red Sox.

Yates is still under control for another year and next season the Padres will certainly be in contention for the whole season and possibly make a run at the Dodgers.

They will have a great supporting cast in the bullpen to help Yates including rookies Michel Baez, Adrian Morejon, and Andres Munoz (who hits 102 mph) with a huge upside rotation with the likes of top prospect MacKenzie Gore and Luis Patino.

If they were to trade Yates to the Red Sox I don’t think they would be satisfied with the package they get back because Boston does not have a very strong farm system.

Although the trade would be good for the Boston Red Sox, San Diego would want back much better prospects, something the Red Sox simply just don’t have.