Red Sox Trade Rumors: Padres LHP Brad Hand Targeted; May Require Rafael Devers

The San Diego Padres are reportedly putting a high price tag on reliever Brad Hand.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported the Padres are looking for a "young everyday player" and could require rising star Rafael Devers in any potential deal.

Hand, 28, has recorded 21 saves in 23 chances while posting a 2.25 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 2018. He's struck out 53 batters in 36 innings of work.

Devers would be a borderline laughable price to pay for any reliever. The 21-year-old is one of the most touted Red Sox prospects in recent memory, though he has struggled to live up to the hype. With a .239/.287/.418 slash, 11 home runs and 35 runs batted in, Devers has been feast-or-famine at the plate. He's also not great defensively, so his future isn't as set in stone as it seemed a couple of years ago.

Still, trading a 21-year-old potential All-Star for a reliever would be an exorbitant sum. Boston ranks a respectable sixth in bullpen ERA but has relied on its starters for heavy innings this season. The Red Sox relievers have the seventh-fewest innings pitched thus far in 2018, something they would like to change as they gear up for an extended postseason run.

Craig Kimbrel, Joe Kelly and Matt Barnes have been reliable, but all three are righties. Hand would give the Sox pen some versatility it currently lacks.

Odds are the Sox won't be willing to pay San Diego's asking price, though.