The Boston Red Sox are a surprise contender in the American League wild card race, and it became clear ahead of the trade deadline that if they wanted to find their way into the postseason, they had some needs to address. The biggest of the bunch was their bullpen, and through a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, the Sox have found a way to fill that need.

The Reds had several relievers that they were looking to deal ahead of the deadline, with one of them being Lucas Sims. The veteran reliever has been solid at the back of their bullpen this season, and he ended up getting flipped to Boston in this deal, with right-handed pitching prospect Ovis Portes heading the other way.

Via Joel Sherman:

“Red Sox trading RHP Ovis Portes to Reds for Lucas Sims.”

Red Sox shore up bullpen with Lucas Sims trade

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Lucas Sims (39) throws a pitch in the ninth inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Colorado Rockies at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati.
Mandatory Credit: Sam Greene-USA TODAY NETWORK

Since returning from the All-Star break, Boston's bullpen has been horrific, so it was clear they were going to be in the market for some relievers ahead of the deadline. With closers across the league being incredibly pricey, the Red Sox front office opted to target a late-innings setup guy in Sims who can come in and help bridge the gap to closer Kenley Jansen.

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Sims had been with the Reds since 2018, and he ended up turning himself into a key piece of their bullpen. His numbers with Cincy so far this season are quite strong (1-4, 3.57 ERA, 40 K, 1.42 WHIP), and while Boston has gotten solid production from their starting rotation, things have been a bit messy when turning it over to the bullpen, so the hope is that Sims can immediately slot into a big role in the back of the bullpen.

Boston has had some solid production from guys like Greg Weissert, Justin Slaten, Brennan Bernardino, and Cam Booser, but they haven't had a true setup man for Jansen for much of the year. The team will quickly be looking for Sims to slot into a late-innings role to help the team protect some of the leads they have been throwing away as of late.

On the other end of this deal, all the Red Sox had to give up was Ovis Portes, who is a 19-year old pitcher who wasn't among the team's top 30 prospects per MLB.com. Boston has done a great job filling in the edges of their roster to this point, and they will be worth keeping an eye on over the next few hours to see if they make any more final moves before the deadline strikes.