Boston Red Sox Must Trade for Chicago Cubs Pitcher Matt Garza

As the All-Star break comes to an end and the second half of the 2012 MLB season begins, the Boston Red Sox still have a big chance to make some noise this season and reach the playoffs.

After an injury-plagued first half, poor pitching and general lackluster play, the Red Sox still find themselves only two and a half games out of the wild card race with a record of 43-43.

Not so bad for a team which has been starting multiple AAA players against the New York Yankees.

The Red Sox have the potential to be a second half giant. With top offensive stars Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia near return and slumbering powerhouse Adrian Gonzalez on the verge of waking up, Boston could be a scoring machine for the rest of the season.

Unfortunately, none of this matters if Boston's starting pitching continues to disappoint.

Josh Beckett and Jon Lester have had very disappointing years for Boston. Felix Doubront had begun to fall off and Dice-K is Dice-K. Just as soon as Buchholz started heating up, he hit the DL.

The starting pitching for the Red Sox simply hasn't been there this year and that needs to change if they want to have a shot at the playoffs, or something greater.

Boston could just wait for Buchholz to return and pray that Lester and Beckett become more consistent, but these wouldn't be smart moves.

The Red Sox need stability from their starting pitching staff, and Matt Garza is the perfect man for the job.

Most Boston fans remember Garza from his days with the Tampa Bay Rays. If they remember correctly, the guy was an AL East killer. Garza made mince meat of the division, helping the Rays make the playoffs in consecutive seasons.

Coming to Boston would be familiar, comfortable territory for Garza. With Theo Epstein being the GM of the Cubs, Ben Cherington should be able to come to a deal with his old buddy.

So what trade chips does Boston has to give? The possibilities are endless.

With Ellsbury and Crawford on the way back to the club, they both will start in the outfield upon return. That leaves Ryan Kalish, Cody Ross, Mike Sweeney, Daniel Nava, and Scott Podsednik to fill the remaining outfield spot.

Ryan Kalish and Cody Ross have played well and can man right field while Sweeney, Nava and Podesednik can all be used as trade bait. Even Ross could be traded with his one year contract.

Mike Aviles has had a great season and played well, but with Boston's plethora of young shortstops in the minors and the likes of Pedro Ciracio making a splash at Fenway, Aviles could be moved as well.

Lastly, a prospect like Lars Anderson really has no place in the Red Sox organization any more, so moving him over to the GM that drafted him is another viable option.

The Red Sox have a good amount of trade chips and a dire need for stability in the starting rotation. A trade for Garza must happen for second-half success.

In Garza the Red Sox will receive a solid, number three guy in the rotation and all they will be giving up are players which they can easily replace.

You need pitching to win games in the AL East, and if Ben Cherington is smart, he needs to be calling up his former boss sooner than later.