The Boston Red Sox reportedly are showing "active interest" in All-Star closer Kirby Yates. But the San Diego Padres aren't just going to give him away.
In fact, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal suggested Wednesday the Padres might require a pretty steep haul to move Yates before the July 31 MLB trade deadline.
To trade closer Kirby Yates, the Padres likely would require a package along the lines of what the Yankees received for Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller in 2016.
Translation: The Red Sox (or any other Yates suitor) would have to sell the farm to acquire the 32-year-old right-hander.
The Yankees' trade with the Chicago Cubs for Chapman in July 2016 netted them four prospects, headlined by now-All-Star second baseman Gleyber Torres. In dealing Miller to the Cleveland Indians days later, New York landed four more top prospects, including outfielder Clint Frazier and pitcher Justus Sheffield.
Such a price tag could be problematic for the Red Sox, who have just one player on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list (infielder Triston Casas at No. 93) after bleeding their farm system dry to acquire players like Chris Sale and Tyler Thornburg.
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Boston still needs bullpen help -- its 4.61 bullpen ERA ranks 18th in MLB -- and could move a player on their active roster such as infielder Michael Chavis or pitcher Darwinzon Hernandez. Yates has been brilliant this season, too, boasting a league-leading 31 saves with a sparkling 1.05 ERA.
But president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will have to decide if landing a player like Yates is worth the cost of further depleting his assets to improve a club struggling to stay in Wild Card contention.
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