We're still a few months away from the 2026 Major League Baseball trade deadline, but noise around the league has already started to pick up.
Most of it is just noise at this point. Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers has been someone specifically talked about as a potential trade candidate. The San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Guardians have already come together on a trade involving two-time Gold Glove Award winner Patrick Bailey. We're at a point in the Major League Baseball calendar in which the chatter is starting to pick up and we could see smaller-scale moves in the short-term, although nothing seems imminent.
When it comes to the Boston Red Sox, there has been speculation about guys like Jarren Duran and Sonny Gray. On Thursday, Ari Alexander of 7News Boston WHDH threw another name out there and reported that teams are monitoring the availability of flamethrowing reliever Zack Kelly. The report surfaced as it was shared that Kelly would be optioned down to the minors to make room for Tayron Guerrero.
May 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Zack Kelly (76) pitches against the Houston Astros during the tenth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images
"MLB source confirms RHP Zack Kelly has been optioned," Alexander wrote. "Curious move here, as Kelly has a 1.64 ERA over his past 12 appearances and has been solid everywhere from the 4th to 10th inning in that stretch. There have been teams who are monitoring Kelly for a potential trade, given the Red Sox bullpen depth, source tells me."
Now that's certainly interesting. As the trade speculation and started and the hot stove has started to turn on, there hasn't been anything out there about Kelly. But the idea does make sense. He's under team control through the 2029 season. So, he has three more seasons of control left. Kelly has been on the roster bubble a lot in Boston and has bounced between the big leagues and the minors. He didn't make the big league roster out of Spring Training this year, but quickly was promoted.
Kelly has a 3.31 ERA in 17 appearances. That's solid in itself. He's been even better over his last 12 outings. Kelly logged a 1.64 ERA in his last 12 appearances to go along with 11 strikeouts before the reports popped up indicating that he's going back to Triple-A Worcester for the time being. He'll surely be back in the majors at some point, but the Red Sox have enough bullpen depth that they could get through if he were moved.
Kelly certainly is now someone to watch in the trade market.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/red-sox/onsi as Red Sox 5-Year Veteran Drawing Trade Interest Around MLB .
