Chris Sale, Alex Gordon may be on Red Sox wishlist in MLB free agency, trade period

The Hot Stove season is officially in full swing following the GM meetingsin Boca Raton, Florida. While the Red Sox didn’t make any moves, they were active in conversations with other teams, likely doing a lot of background checks and laying the groundwork for potential deals as the Winter Meetings approach.

With new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski leading the way, the Red Sox will likely add a number of new faces, as he hopes to build a winning team and bounce back from back-to-back last places finishes.

Here are two players the Red Sox could target soon:

Alex Gordon, outfielder, free agent

While the Red Sox organization continues to say they will go with Rusney Castillo, Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. as their outfield in 2016, the Bradley Jr. trade rumors continue and if that is the case, the team will need another full-time outfielder and Gordon could be their guy.

Last year with the Royals he hit .271 with 13 home runs and 48 RBIs in 104 games helping Kansas City to the World Series title.

Even if the Red Sox go with Castillo, Betts and Bradley Jr., they still need a fourth outfielder. If the Red Sox could then convince the 32-year-old Gordon to come to Boston in a backup role, there would be no better outfield in the league.

Chris Sale, left-handed starter, White Sox

This may be a bit of a long shot, but the Red Sox are still searching for the ace of their rotation. Sale is still under White Sox control until the end of the 2019 season, but Chicago reportedly would deal the lefty if the right deal presented itself.

Last season Sale went 13-11 with a 3.41 ERA and made his fourth straight All-Star team. The 26-year-old is one of the best young starters in the game.

It was speculated this week if the White Sox were to deal Sale, the Red Sox would have the best shot because of their deep farm system. While the Red Sox would certainly need to part ways with some of their best prospects, getting a stud like Sale might prove to be worth it.