Boston Red Sox: Ryan Dempster, Francisco Liriano and Latest Boston Trade Rumors

As we move closer and closer to the MLB trade deadline, trade talks are starting to heat up throughout baseball—including the Boston Red Sox.

Here are a few names which have been linked to Boston trade talks.

Ryan Dempster

Reports that Ryan Dempster, starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, will be traded have been rampant the past 24 hours.

Several teams have reported having interest in the guy who leads the NL in ERA, and Boston just so happens to be one of them.

Dempster has a scoreless-inning streak of 33 going right now, and any team that acquires him now could really bolster their staff with an ace.

Should Boston go for it? True, Dempster would make the Red Sox miles more formidable than they are now, but his stock is incredibly high and any trade for him would be very costly.

Epstein knows the Red Sox farm system better than anyone, and the thought of him dangling Ryan Dempster over Ben Cherington's head is kind of scary.

Is Dempster worth several prized prospects? You make the call.

Francisco Liriano

Liriano raised a lot of heads when he threw 15 strikeouts in his last start, and now reports are saying that Boston is a team of interest.  

Liriano has been known for his inconsistency throughout his career, but his 2.83 ERA in his last nine starts could very easily make teams forget about that as they begin to push for the playoffs.

His ability to both start and come into games in relief is also an attractive trait, and the Red Sox could just make a run at him.

The price for Liriano would be considerably less than for Ryan Dempster because of his total-season stats, but the pitcher would still come at a high price.

Rafael Betancourt

37-year-old reliever Rafael Betancourt has also been rumored to move from Colorado this season, and the Red Sox are a likely suitor.

This could bolster Boston's bullpen for the latter part of the season, and with the surplus of outfielders due to the returns of Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford, Boston could easily move guys like Ryan Sweeney, Scott Podsednik or Daniel Nava and not have it affect their outfield.

Apparently the Sox would not want to move Cody Ross, which I think is very smart considering how well he has done in his role in right field this season.

A Betancourt deal could work in the Red Sox's favor, as long as they don't give up any prospects for the old reliever.

Kelly Shoppach

The New York Mets are in the market for a catcher, and if they cannot get their hands on Ramon Hernandez, it looks like their sights will move over to Kelly Shoppach.

This seems like a no-brainer to me, as Boston would be able to squeeze something out of the Mets and the Sox would be able to call up Ryan Lavarnway, who is having a great season in Pawtucket.

Lavarnway would be equally as good as Shoppach, and there's a good chance that he would perform better.

This is a win-win situation. Lavarnway gets called up and the Red Sox get someone in return from the Mets.

Matt Garza

We've all heard this one a hundred times by now, and I've even written about why Boston should go for him, but apparently the Red Sox are still interested in Matt Garza. 

The price would be higher to acquire Garza because he has another year left on his contract, but Boston needs pitching and all pitchers are options.

Garza is no stranger to the AL East, and his presence on the staff could be very positive.

That wraps up the rumors for now, but it would seem that the Red Sox are in the market for pitchers. Let's see if Ben Cherington can capitalize on one of these.