MLB Trade Rumors: Gavin Floyd Wouldn't Solve Red Sox Rotation Problems

The Boston Red Sox have been relatively quiet this offseason, save for the Andrew Bailey acquisition, but they are still in the market for starting pitching. They have been linked to free agent Roy Oswalt, and there are rumblings that they are looking at Chicago White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd.

According to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, they are showing interest in Floyd. That is a term that has always boggled my mind, because a lot of teams can show interest in anyone. 

As desperate as the Red Sox are for rotation help, Floyd is not the answer that they need. He is a decent starter in the American League Central, but his numbers do not suggest a lot of success in the brutal American League East. 

His numbers have been going down since his peak in 2009. That year, he threw 193 innings with a 4.06 ERA, 7.6 K/9 IP and a WAR of 4.5. In 2011, he still threw 193.2 innings, but had 7.02 K/9 IP and a 4.37 ERA. 

In addition to those numbers, his home-run rate of 1.02 and ground-ball rate of 43.7 percent were his worst totals since 2008. That means he is giving up a lot of flyballs, and more of them are turning into home runs. 

You could try and attribute the rise in home runs to the hitter-friendly confines of U.S. Cellular Field, but it is not like Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium are doing a lot to cater to pitchers. 

Floyd just doesn't strike me as a good fit for an American League East rotation. He is a flyball pitcher, and the teams in that division hit a lot of home runs.

In addition to the Yankees and Red Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays boast a powerful lineup and Tampa Bay's offense figures to be better this season with a full season from Desmond Jennings and Evan Longoria being healthy. 

The Red Sox would be better off giving Oswalt a one-year contract for $10-12 million and hoping that his back doesn't act up than giving up prospects in a trade for Floyd. 

Their rotation has the potential to be good at the top with Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz; they just need to find quality depth. Daniel Bard is going to be given a chance to start, but don't expect that to last too long.

Adding Oswalt, not Floyd, to the mix would be great for them heading into spring training next month. 

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