Thanks for the link to Rosenthal--I had looked on Fox Sports for his columns to no avail. To clarify, after reading Rosenthal's piece, it was he, and not Dombrowski, that suggested both Cozart and Kinsler. Rosenthal also noted that Kinsler has only played third once--for 2 innings--in his career. At 35, switching teams and coming to Boston to learn a new position in the heat of a pennant race might be a tall order for him. And he does have a convoluted history with Pedroia--Kinsler lost the starting shortstop job at ASU to Pedey and eventually transferred to Missouri, and they have been pretty much regarded as competitors for best secondbasemen of this generation--or at least as runners up to Cano. Would Kinsler even want to come here to play in Pedroia's shadow? And he does have a no-trade clause to 10 teams.
Frankly, I think Kinsler is a bad fit due to his age, inexperience, and history. And when Rosenthal closes his column with the idea that the Sox need a spark--they already have one in Pedroia.
In regards to Cozart, he's younger, but also not experienced at 3rd. Sticking with the Reds, though--what about Eugenio Suarez--seems to above average in the field, is OPS'ing 111, has some power, and is inexpensive and signed through the end of the season?