By Jack Fritz, Sports Talk Philly editor
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reported Sunday that 'at least' five teams are scouting Philadelphia Phillies All-Star reliever Pat Neshek. But which contender will eventually land the 36-year-old?
According to Bovada, the Boston Red Sox are the favorites to land Neshek at 5/1.
Here are the full odds for Neshek as we approach the July 31st trade deadline.
Pat Neshek, RP, Phillies
Boston Red Sox: 5/1
Los Angeles Dodgers: 8/1
Tampa Bay Rays: 8/1
Washington Nationals: 8/1
Milwaukee Brewers: 9/1
FIELD: 7/3
Not traded: 9/1
We are seven days away from the MLB trade deadline and already we've seen a couple relievers moved to contenders. David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle were traded to the New York Yankees and Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson were shipped to the Washington Nationals. Sergio Romo was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in a minor move that won't really hurt their chances of pursuing Neshek.
Even though these moves have been made so far, the Neshek market is far from drying up. He seemingly has a rubber arm that can help all of these teams going forward. He's an easy plug-and-play that can be pitched all around.
The Red Sox have made the most sense for a long time. Tyler Thornburg has been hurt this whole season, Joe Kelly just went down with an injury as well. Even with these injuries, the Red Sox still have the third best bullpen ERA in the league. That shouldn't stop them from pursuing Neshek though as he can only help them maintain that strong pen. Also, I'm sure they've kept an eye on their rivals down south, as they just re-stocked their own bullpen. We could be in for an arms race in the AL East.
It is interesting that the names that we've heard the most recently weren't higher on the list. It seems like the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals have been most linked to Neshek as the deadline approaches.
Still, with seven days to go before the deadline, Vegas thinks the Red Sox will land Neshek and really, doesn't he just look like a Red Sox?
