The Boston Red Sox acquired pitcher Paul Byrd from Cleveland on Tuesday, hoping to boost a rotation hurt by an injury to Tim Wakefield and the struggles of Clay Buchholz.
The Red Sox will send either a player to be named or cash to the Indians.
The 37-year-old Byrd is 7-10 with a 4.53 ERA this season. But he has won all four of his starts since the All-Star break with a 1.24 ERA.
Despite their pitching woes, oddsmakers from online sports book Bodog still like the Red Sox chances to win the 2008 World Series and have set their odds at 6/1. Boston is also still one of the favorites to win the American League Pennant at 5/2 odds.
Pitching is going to be huge for the Sox down the stretch, especially given how potent their offensive is. If Byrd can continue to pitch well in the second half, Boston will have a tremendous chance of catching the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East, or win the Wild Card.
``It just seemed like the right time to add this kind of stabilizer,'' Boston general manager Theo Epstein said. ``You never want to get caught short on starting pitching in August and September because there's very little you can do about it.''
Could be a real shot in the arm for the Sox 😉