More Ranger Suarez IL drama gives Red Sox trade chip another deadline audition

The Boston Red Sox on July 22 tied franchise history with their 15th consecutive win. The win came against the division rival Baltimore Orioles as the first game of a doubleheader.

The Red Sox expected All-Star lefty Ranger Suarez to come off the injured list to start the evening game. It would've been his first start since July 5 after he hit the 15-day injured list with a groin issue.

But just after the Red Sox's celebration of their 15th win ended, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reported that Suarez will not start in the evening due to an illness. Lefty Eduardo Rivera will take his place.

Boston initially believed Suarez would be able to come off the IL on July 21, for the game that was rained out. But the Sox decided to give him an extra day of rest after he pushed himself hard to return — he threw on July 20 to test his health and experienced some soreness the following day, as well as his illness.

Possible trade candidate Eduardo Rivera will start Red Sox's second July 22 game in Ranger Suarez's stead

Rivera has spent most of his season with the Triple-A WooSox, but he's made two abbreviated starts for the Red Sox since he was called up on July 11. He posted a 2.44 ERA over 48 innings between Double-A and Triple-A and allowed three runs on five hits with nine strikeouts and four walks over 9.1 frames in the big leagues.

Once Suarez has returned from the IL, Rivera could be an intriguing trade deadline target for a team in the hunt. The Red Sox won't be sellers now that their 15-game win streak has placed them safely within the Wild Card picture, but Rivera could be part of a trade with another contender to address a need of Boston's, such as a right-handed bat. The Sox have enough pitching to move him, if Suarez and Connelly Early's recoveries continue as they have been — Boston still has Payton Tolle, Jake Bennett, Sonny Gray and Patrick Sandoval to fill up the rotation.

The Red Sox called Brayan Bello back up to the big leagues on July 12, the day after Rivera's call, and he may enter the series finale against Baltimore in a piggyback-type role. Bello has struggled severely as a starter this year and the Orioles, in particular, have fared well against him — he has a 17.28 ERA against Baltimore this year — but he's performed well out of the bullpen.

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This article was originally published on bosoxinjection.com as More Ranger Suarez IL drama gives Red Sox trade chip another deadline audition.