Baltimore Orioles: Could the Red Sox be a Hot Stove trade partner?

The Baltimore Orioles need pitchers and the Boston Red Sox need some guys who can hit home runs.

The Baltimore Orioles have guys who can hit home runs and the Red Sox have a bunch of pitchers. And, the Red Sox also have money.

Could the Red Sox and Orioles partner up to make some Hot Stove trades that could benefit both sides?

According to Roster Resource, the Red Sox are in need of someone to play first base and to DH. The Orioles have Mark Trumbo and Chris Davis. Of course, being in the same division as the Red Sox would make this partnership highly unlikely. But, there is always a chance…baseball is like that.

Could the team with money take a few contracts?

But if they could take a few big contracts, it would open up opportunities for the Orioles. For example, if the O’s could ditch the Davis contract, there would be more money to offer to Manny Machado.

So, back to the Red Sox. The big home run hitter in 2017 was Mookie Betts, who hit 24. Only four players total hit 20 or more home runs for the Red Sox. The Orioles had seven players who hit 20 or more and two hit more than 30. Davis hit 26 and Trumbo hit 24. Neither played a full season, so their numbers are lower than expected.

What the O’s could request

Who would the Orioles want in exchange? Ten pitchers started games for the Red Sox. Of course, Chris Sale would be out of the question, as would Drew Pomeranz. But, there are two pitchers that Dave Dombrowski might be willing to trade. Rick Porcello had an off year. Dombrowski might be ready to part with him.

The pitcher that would be ideal for the Orioles is Eduardo Rodriguez. He’s young and cheap and has a career ERA Of 4.23 with a WHIP of 1.290. He gave up 19 home runs in 2017 and struck out 150. It’s doubtful that the Red Sox would want to trade an affordable player under team control. But Dave Dombrowski has done it before – many, many times before when he was with the Detroit Tigers. (Robbie Ray and Rick Porcello are two that come to mind). Rodriguez did have knee surgery and isn’t expected to be back to playing form until April. He also hasn’t been performing up to his expectations, so a change of scenery could be good for him.

Next: Faux GM Winter Meetings rules and details

A trade partnership with the Red Sox will most likely not happen, but the two have what each other needs.

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