Cafardo’s Latest: Hill, O’s, BoSox, Beltran, Reddick, Dodgers

Here’s are this week’s rumblings from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:

• Left-hander Rich Hill, whom the Dodgers acquired from Oakland on Monday, would’ve preferred to go to either the Orioles or Red Sox at the non-waiver trade deadline, reports Cafardo. Those are two of the journeyman’s many former major league employers, and the 36-year-old Massachusetts native revived his career with Boston in 2015. The Orioles were in on Hill prior to the deadline and are likely to target him this winter if he hits free agency as arguably the premier starter in a weak market.
• Right fielder Josh Reddick, who joined Hill in going from the Athletics to the Dodgers at the deadline, is a fit in Los Angeles’ clubhouse and could sign a long-term deal to stay there, per Cafardo. Reddick – 30 next February – figures to be one of the top free agents on the market if he makes it there and might be in line for a four- or five-year deal, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes wrote earlier this week. Yasiel Puig’s future as a Dodger is up in the air, and they’ve gotten underwhelming production from the rest of their outfielders (Joc Pederson aside), so it would seemingly make sense for the club to retain the steady Reddick. That’s assuming he performs well in LA, of course, which hasn’t been the case so far. In a minuscule sample size of 16 post-deadline at-bats, Reddick has collected only one hit.
• Before the Red Sox picked up reliever Brad Ziegler from Arizona on July 9, they were looking at White Sox closer David Robertson as a possible trade target, Cafardo writes. For now, Robertson remains in Chicago. The 31-year-old still has $28.5MM remaining on his contract and hasn’t been as effective this season as he was previously, having compiled a 3.97 ERA, 10.13 K/9 and 4.57 BB/9 in 45 1/3 innings.
• The Red Sox aggressively tried to acquire right fielder and designated hitter Carlos Beltran before the archrival Yankees traded him to the Rangers, according to Cafardo, who adds that a deal was close enough that Boston expected it to happen. Of course, after failing to land Beltran, the Sox promoted elite left field prospect Andrew Benintendi to the majors.