– 8 – to the disruption of the progenitor of today’s low-mass core. Perets & Fabrycky (2009) have considered the generation of blue stragglers via this mechanism. They focused on mergers, but the same general idea could apply to systems like KOI-74. We therefore propose that mass transfer occurred prior to the approach that triggered the common envelope. During that earlier epoch, the progenitor of the hot core made close approaches to the star we monitor today. In a process analogous to what happens in high-mass x-ray binaries, mass was transferred during these close approaches. Eventually, under the influence of a third star, the periastron distance became small enough to trigger a dynamical instability. We used Equation 1 to compute the initial value, a$_{i}$ , of the binary’s semimajor axis at the time the primary filled its Roche lobe. The secondary mass was considered to be the mass observed today, and we set M$_{c}$ to 0 . 03 M ⊙ , a$_{f}$ = 16 R ⊙ , and assumed efficient envelope ejection ( α = 100), so as to compute the minimum value of a$_{i}$. We found that the eccentricity was required to be large, generally > 0 . 997 . Thus, this scenario predicts the presence of a third body in the system. Its separation from the 2 . 2 M ⊙ star Kepler is monitoring today would likely be greater than a few hundred AU (See Figure 2), so that this star third is potentially detectable today. As shown in Fabrycky & Tremaine (2007) and references therein, triple stars are common, and a large fraction of close binaries are known to have another companion in a wide orbit. (See also Eggleton & Kisseleva-Eggleton 2001.) This triple-star scenario therefore seems plausible. The one feature that seems unlikely is the extreme value of the eccentricity required. Finally, we note another, less likely possibility. Eggleton (2002) discusses systems in which the envelope was so weakly bound to the primary that dynamical instability did not produce substantial spiral-in. This situation does not seem likely to apply to KOI-74. The fact that different values of the mass of today’s small-radius core are associated with different evolutionary scenarios points to the importance of reliable mass measurements for both KOI-74 and KOI-81. While it is intriguing that the well-sampled Kepler light curves have allowed both Doppler boosting and tidal methods to be employed, a radial velocity measurement is required. Preliminary indications are that the rotational velocities of both KOI-74a and KOI-81a are high, perhaps in the range of ∼ 300 km s − 1 (Latham 2010). While this may complicate radial velocity measurements, it could also be a clue that each has accreted matter, thereby supporting the mass transfer model. High rotational velocities are, in fact, often associated with blue stragglers, presumable generated through mass transfer (see, e.g., De Marco et al. 2005 and Mathieu & Geller 2009). While, therefore, the high rates of rotation may make mass measurements more difficult, it is also possible that they are providing a signal that mass transfer did occur.