The blockbuster trade that brought All-Star starter Luis Castillo from the Cincinnati Reds to the Seattle Mariners serves not only as the first starting point for remaining deals but caused many teams interested in the right-handed hurler to pivot in different directions.
The Toronto Blue Jays might be one of those teams shifting to Plan B, which could end up being a former Red Sox amid a breakout All-Star season.
"The Blue Jays have the motivation and the prospects to make a big trade for a much-needed starting pitcher -- MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi recently mentioned the Rangers' Martín Pérez as a potential fit if Texas makes him available," MLB.com's Thomas Harrigan wrote Saturday.
The Rangers were "strongly in the mix" for Castillo according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, but their 45-54 record indicates that selling might be the more favorable option for a team that appears to be at least a year away from serious contention.
Should they choose to pivot in the coming days, Pérez, All-Star this year, would be their biggest asset on an expiring contract. Pérez spent the previous two seasons in Boston, going 10-13 with a 4.65 ERA in 176 innings across 48 games (34 starts).
The southpaw was bounced out of the Red Sox rotation down the stretch a year ago and completely reinvented himself as a frontline starter just a few months later.
Pérez, 31, is 9-2 with a 2.52 ERA and a 107-to-35 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 20 starts. He'll be one of the hottest commodities on the trade block should the Rangers elect to move him. If the Blue Jays really do want to make a splash, adding Pérez to a rotation that already boasts Alek Manoah, Kevin Gausman, Ross Stripling and José Berríos would create the most dynamic rotation in baseball.
Red Sox Nation should hope Pérez stays right where he is unless a reunion is on the table.
