MLB Rumors: Red Sox make two trades to upgrade bullpen depth

Hitting has not been the reason why the Boston Red Sox are at the bottom of the AL East standings. Alex Cora's club ranks eighth in the league in team batting average and seventh in team OPS on the season thus far.

It's been another story when it comes to pitching, though. Brayan Bello has emerged as a bonafide future star but, between injuries and a poorly constructed overall roster, they have struggled on the bump, ranking 20th in team ERA and 18th in team WHIP. To put it plainly, it's been the thing keeping the Red Sox from being a playoff team as opposed to a middling club.

Chaim Bloom, for his faults, is working to improve that situation a little more than a month out from the deadline.

On Thursday, June 22, Boston traded for reliever Tayler Scott from the Dodgers, sending him to Triple-A Worcester. Then, on Tuesday, the club also traded for Royals minor-league reliever Andrés Nuñez. The return for Nuñez has yet to be revealed but it's expected to be similar to the cash considerations the Red Sox sent to Los Angeles for Scott.

All told, Scott and Nuñez are far from high-end options that will immediately bolster the bullpen in Boston. In fact, you could say it's far from that. Scott is intriguing after posting a 1.37 ERA over 19 appearances in Triple-A prior to the trade while Nuñez has struggled with an ERA north of 6.00 this season, though he flashed big time a year ago.

At the same time, though, one key area the Red Sox struggled mightily in recent years during the summer was with having options to turn to in order to be able to shake up the bullpen. Scott and Nuñez are relatively seasoned and could indeed offer that. With the additions that we've seen Bloom already make prior to these moves to address the bullpen, there is reason to believe these latest trades could be valuable for Boston down the stretch.

MLB Rumors: Will Cubs pursue Paul Goldschmidt trade…and would Cardinals do it?

Paul Goldschmidt could be one of the biggest prizes at the MLB Trade Deadline, if the St. Louis Cardinals even elect to move him. There's a good case to be made that they should with only two years remaining on his contract, which will be up when he's 37 years old and as the Cards are eyeing a move toward building for the future.

The return for Goldschmidt would be massive. He's the reigning NL MVP who is still playing at a high level, even for a struggling Cardinals team. More importantly, the market for him should be lucrative too — and it might include a bitter St. Louis rival: the Chicago Cubs.

Such an idea was explored by Kade Kistner of Inside the Cubs.

Goldschmidt would be a perfect solution for one of the biggest problems that Chicago has had this season. Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini were offseason additions made to help solidify first base, but neither have worked. Matt Mervis, meanwhile, has struggled to fill that void as well as he may need a bit more time and development in the minors. There has even been the experiment with Cody Bellinger.

Goldy, however, changes the calculus. He's a massive upgrade both at the plate and with his glove at the position, which would be critical for a Cubs team already appearing to be on track to overtake the Brewers in the NL Central.

The big question, though, is if the Cardinals would up the price for Goldschmidt for a trade with the rival Cubs, or if they'd even be interested in doing so at all.

It's worth noting that the Cubs' top three prospects are all outfielders, which doesn't help St. Louis much at all given the fact that they could too be looking to unload their glut at the position. Even still, though, Chicago would have to pay handsomely to get the deal done. For a club with promise and potentially looking to get aggressive in order to make a run over the next couple of seasons, though, it's still not the worst idea.

MLB Rumors: Braves could target RP Yohan Ramirez from selling Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the early-season darlings in baseball, surging out of the gates to the top of the division standings and firing on all cylinders. Since then, though, the wheels have come off. The team has just one win in their last 10 games, continuing a trend that has dropped the Buccos to fourth in the division race.

And that all leads to a report on Monday from MLB insider Jon Morosi that the Pirates are going to sell at the deadline.

Enter the Atlanta Braves. Unlike the Pirates, the Braves have the best record in the National League and are a scary World Series contender. Because of that, they are likely to be buyers at the deadline with pitching being the most likely course of action for them to target. And Pittsburgh has some options.

If Atlanta wanted to swing for the fences, they could take a look at David Bednar, a player with three years of club control after this season and who has been one of the best relievers in baseball quietly over the past few years. If they wanted to strengthen the rotation, veteran Rich Hill could be an easy, relatively cheap rental for the Braves to pursue.

However, if the Braves want to make more than one deal, which they should, perhaps they could go for the sleeper option: RHP Yohan Ramirez.

The 28-year-old has been solid with the Pirates this season, appearing in 19 games and posting a 3.00 ERA, though he does have a 1.46 WHIP. He was also sneakily good for Pittsburgh last season too with a 3.67 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 22 appearances.

Even at his age, Ramirez still has three years of club control left too, which could be huge for the Braves as they'd acquire cheap help to bolster the bullpen for the 2023 season and moving forward, but doing so without the name-brand price of someone like Bednar.

Of course, if there's a good deal for Bednar on the table, then he's a better option than Ramirez — that just seems unlikely given the situation.