With recent news of the shoulder injury to Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Walker Buehler, the Red Sox could soon be looking for an experienced and reliable pitcher to fill his spot in the rotation.

As early as it is in the season and with the extent of Buehler’s injury unknown, Boston also may very well not want to jump the gun and make an early-season trade. If they decide to go through with a trade, here are three pitchers the Red Sox should go after.

Andrew Heaney, Pittsburgh Pirates

In his career, Heaney has been a below-.500 pitcher record wise, but this season he has been a bit better than that in his first campaign with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Heaney is currently 2-2 with an ERA of 2.50 across 36 innings and six starts. His most recent start against the Chicago Cubs was the worst of his season. He allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings and did not record a single strikeout for the first time all season.

That starts seems to be a bit of an outlier, as it was one of only two starts in which Heaney has allowed multiple runs, as well as just the second time he’s recorded less than six strikeouts in an outing.

He could give Boston another left-handed arm along with Garrett Crochet and could move to the same division as the Yankees, who he threw seven innings of one run baseball against.

Sandy Alcántara, Miami Marlins

Prior to the season, Alcántara was expected to be the most-targeted starting pitcher at this season’s trade deadline. But with his early struggles, that may not be the case anymore.

Alcántara has an 8.31 ERA through six starts and just 19 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched. He’s allowed multiple runs in each of his six starts and does not look like the pitcher that won the NL Cy Young award just two seasons ago.

Because of those blown-up stats, Boston may be able to pull off a trade for Alcántara without giving up its entire farm system. A change of scenery from a bad Marlins team to a playoff contending Red Sox team could do wonders for the 29-year-old right-hander.

Yusei Kikuchi, Los Angeles Angels

Surprisingly, it does not seem like Kikuchi’s name has been mentioned much when early-season trade deadline targets have been discussed.

That could be because he’s making over $20 million per year, or it could be because he’s just been forgotten about on a very bad Los Angeles Angels team.

Either way, Boston should definitely be calling about the left-hander who, despite being 0-4 this season, has a manageable ERA of 4.21 in seven starts. He has been roughed up by two bad offenses in the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins, but those could be early season kinks that he’s trying to work out.

Kikuchi would be a great fit in Boston and could be a huge piece of helping the Red Sox get back to the postseason for the first time since 2021.

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