The Red Sox are on the verge of making a deal for Chicago White Sox righthander Jake Peavy as part of a three-team trade.
The price is steep: defensive wizard Jose Iglesias will go to the Detroit Tigers. Detroit will send outfielder Avisail Garcia to the White Sox.
Other players are involved in the deal. The Red Sox are expected to land righthanded reliever Brayan Villareal, who is pitching in Triple A for Detroit. The Red Sox will be including two or three other prospects in the deal.
Pending a review of medical records, the deal should be completed on Wednesday ahead of the 4 p.m. (ET) non-waiver trade deadline.
In Peavy, the Red Sox get a pitcher who will slot into a rotation still waiting for the return of Clay Buchholz from the disabled list. The 32-year-old is 8-4 with a 4.28 earned run average in 13 starts for the White Sox and was one of the best starters available on the trade market.
Peavy is a three-time All-Star and won the Cy Young Award with San Diego in 2007. He is 36-29 with a 4.00 ERA in parts of five seasons with the White Sox.
Peavy has $5.19 million remaining on his contract for this season and is signed for $14.5 million in 2014. That he was not a rental for two months appealed to the Red Sox.
The White Sox pulled Peavy from his scheduled start against Cleveland on Tuesday. That would make him available to start for the Red Sox as soon as Thursday.
Peavy has started two games since coming off the disabled list on July 20 after missing six weeks with a non-displaced rib fracture. He has allowed six earned runs on 11 hits over 13 innings and struck out 10.
In Iglesias, the Red Sox are giving up the best defensive infielder in their organization. The 23-year-old shortstop became a regular at third base this season after the Red Sox demoted Will Middlebrooks and handled the position with aplomb.
Iglesias, overmatched as a hitter in the minors and in two brief stints during the 2011 and ’12 seasons, was a surprise at the plate. He is hitting .330 with a .787 OPS in 62 games.
But Iglesias is 5 of his last 43 over 12 games with one run scored. His last extra-base hit was on July 4. Of his 70 hits this season, 24 have been on the infield.
The offensively powerful Tigers can certainly carry Iglesias in their lineup. Detroit has Jhonny Peralta at shortstop but may lose him for the remainder of the season and perhaps beyond due to a suspension related to the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drugs case.
See Wednesday's Globe for more on the trade.
