Red Sox Reportedly Interested In Two Diamondbacks Star Pitchers

With the MLB Trade Deadline approaching on Thursday, the Boston Red Sox are still eyeing potential upgrades to their starting rotation.

One team they’ve been linked to is the Arizona Diamondbacks, who already started selling last week by trading All-Star first baseman Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners.

While the Red Sox could’ve used Naylor to upgrade their own first base situation, they may have their eye on a bigger prize from the Diamondbacks.

On Wednesday afternoon, WEEI’s Rob Bradford reported that Boston has “shown some interest in both Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen.”

Both pitchers are going to be free agents after the season, so it’s not surprising that Arizona is looking to move them.

Of the two, Kelly is having a much better season. In 22 starts this year, the 36-year-old righty is 9-6 with a 3.22 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, 3.3 WAR and 121 strikeouts in 128 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile, Gallen is having a down year by his standards. The former All-Star is 7-12 with a career-worst 5.60 ERA after going 43-19 with a 3.20 ERA from 2022 to 2024.

While Gallen’s younger (29), his peripherals are concerning. He leads the National League in home runs allowed (23) and has yielded the most earned runs in the Major Leagues (79).

Accordingly, Kelly would likely be costlier to acquire and could provide a bigger impact down the stretch. However, Gallen has rebound potential if he can get things straightened out in the second half.

Given their need for starting pitching, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Red Sox make a move for either veteran. While they’d prefer a controllable starter to a rental, perhaps they’re considering pivoting to a pending free agent given the high asking price for someone like Joe Ryan or Mitch Keller.