Pittsburgh Pirates: Three possible trade partners for Steven Brault

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 30: Steven Brault #42 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on August 30, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day, which was postponed April 15 due to the coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

The Boston Red Sox are likely one of those teams calling the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Wherever Steven Brault lands, he’s going to be looked to solidify the backend of a starting rotation, but his versatility and ability to work out of the bullpen will be a valuable asset to many teams.

The Boston Red Sox will be players for just about every pitcher on the market this offseason, but they were the very first team that popped up when thinking about potential landing spots for Steven Brault.

Boston isn’t expected to be big spenders in the free agent market and their ability to land some of the bigger names on the trade market are limited by their lackluster farm system, but they could still swing a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates for Brault.

Eduardo Rodriguez is expected to be ready to go when the 2021 season begins, but Chris Sale will not be. That leaves Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, and Tanner Houck to fill out the rest of the rotation.

Rounding out the rotation with Brault would give Boston a much improved starting rotation next season and give the Red Sox a long-relief option if Brault is forced out of the rotation with the return of a healthy Chris Sale.

Boston’s starting rotation ranked 30th in fWAR last season (0.4) and their bullpen ranked 27th (-0.6). Brault could help improve either of these units, stick around for a few years as Boston works their way back to the top of the AL East, and won’t cost the Red Sox too much to acquire.

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