Could the Red Sox actually trade for the Cy Young Award winner this offseason?

The Boston Red Sox have some serious work to do and are slowly starting to run out of time.

Boston has added Lucas Giolito to the rotation this offseason, but traded away Chris Sale and now have likely two holes to fill. There still are some options available in free agency in Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell to help the top of the rotation, but Boston has made it sound like it won’t be spending big this offseason.

There are some intriguing hurlers available as trade candidates, as well. The top trade option certainly is Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease. A team acquiring him would have two years of control and he wouldn’t cost too much.

The next best option would be Cleveland Guardians stud Shane Bieber. The 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner will be a free agent at the end of the 2024 season and he’s more expensive. Bieber and Cease both are 28 years old and acquiring either would be a solid improvement for Boston, but it’s unclear how likely a trade is at this point.

Bleacher Report’s Brandon Scott created a hypothetical list of the top-10 candidates to land Bieber in a trade and surprisingly had the Red Sox at No. 4.

Starting pitching is a top priority for the Red Sox,” Scott said. “Signing Lucas Giolito gave them what they needed at the top of the rotation, but it still needs work, and taking a risk on Bieber makes sense.

“Kutter Crawford was a revelation for Boston last season, posting a 25.6 percent strikeout rate and 6.8 percent walk rate, both significant improvements from his first two seasons in the big leagues. However, the fact that an unheralded pitcher like Crawford has a shot to make the rotation speaks just as much to what the Red Sox are lacking from that group.”

While this list isn’t indicative of a possible move and is hypothetical, it still is interesting. Boston still needs to add to the rotation and Bieber would be a solid pickup. The New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs were ranked as the top three likeliest landing spots with Boston right behind.

Maybe a move could be on the horizon but there’s no way to know for sure.