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Trade rumor: Could Red Sox bring Daniel Bard back to Boston?

BOSTON -- The Red Sox are on a roll, but like most teams around baseball, could always use a little more help out of the bullpen. They may turn to an old friend to help lock down the late innings, according to a report over the weekend.

In a lengthy piece looking ahead to the Aug. 2 trade deadline, The Athletic's Peter Gammons highlighted an intriguing potential target for Boston: Colorado Rockies closer Daniel Bard.

You may be thinking, "Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time." You may remember Bard as a promising young flamethrower for the Red Sox in 2009, who a few years later caught a bad case of the yips and had to step away from baseball.

That was Daniel Bard, who left the game in 2013 after he lost the strike zone and struggled for a year in the minors. But he returned in 2020 with the Rockies and not only found the strike zone again, but found his old form. Bard was named the Comeback Player of the Year in 2020, and recorded 20 saves for Colorado in 2021.

This year, the 37-year-old has 15 saves in 17 chances to go with a 1.88 ERA and .141 batting average against. He's set to become a free agent after the season, and with the Rockies sitting at 31-40 and last place in the NL West, Bard will most certainly be available ahead of the deadline.

Gammons wrote that Bard is one of the "most intriguing relievers in this summer's market," and notes that the Red Sox are shopping for a pair of righty relievers as the team looks to bolster its bullpen.

So when the moves start to be made, don't be surprised if an old friend is brought back to Boston to help lock down games for the Red Sox the rest of the season. It would be a great chapter in Daniel Bard's amazing comeback story.

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