The Boston Red Sox are a sleeping giant in the AL East, especially if they remain aggressive in adding to a roster that almost toppled the New York Yankees in the AL Wild Card playoff round. That series exposed the Sox’s lack of offensive pop, and they will be sniffing around the market for a big bat this winter.
Rays Slugger Listed As Red Sox Trade Target
The Tampa Bay Rays and Red Sox have been linked in various trade rumors during the last calendar year. Even though the Rays will be contending next season with new ownership in tow, the club may still trade players before they reach free agency to extract maximum value. The Red Sox could inquire about the availability of one such player.
Yandy To Boston?
Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report recently listed Rays slugger Yandy Diaz as a trade target for the Boston Red Sox. “The Red Sox were reportedly coveting the 34-year-old veteran ahead of the trade deadline. Were they to do so again, they would stand to gain a high-reliability hitter who could work as their everyday DH and platoon with Triston Casas at first base,” wrote Rymer.
Diaz, 33, makes a ton of sense as a trade acquisition for the Red Sox. Diaz is coming off a fantastic season in which he was healthy and posted otherworldly offensive numbers. Overall, he slashed .300/.366/.482 with 25 home runs and 83 RBI. The home-run and RBI totals were both career highs for a player who still has experience at first base, even if the vast majority of his playing time came at DH last season. As mentioned, Casas and Nathaniel Lowe are options from the left side.
The Red Sox need to find a way to acquire Yandy Diaz so that they won’t have to face him anymore.
— Ed Hand (@EdHand89) September 20, 2025
A Slugger Who Carries His Weight
Diaz almost unilaterally powered the Rays’ offensive attack this summer. The man may be getting long in the tooth, but he can still hit. One of his most scintillating stretches this season occurred in mid-August during the Rays’ most extended road trip of the year on the West Coast. He turned into a menace in the Bay Area and slashed .295 with six RBI in the 11 games he played on that trip.
Plus, this isn’t a hitter with elevated strikeout totals or depressed walk rates. Diaz’s 14.1% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate are both above the league average. His .318 BABIP was solid, and a 52.5% hard hit rate was in the 94th percentile of baseball. His 73.6 bat speed is consistent with the past few years and demonstrates that he isn’t losing much on his swing. Moreover, Diaz has a .317 average, four home runs, and 22 RBIs in 47 games at Fenway Park.
The Rays Still Have A Bright Future
The Rays obviously would miss Diaz’s offensive production. Having said that, Jonathan Aranda is not a bad replacement option. The craziest part is that the Rays could actually become a better team if they receive a lot of value in return.
Aranda, 27, was chomping at the bit to return to action in the final regular-season series. Aranda swatted two home runs in Toronto during the final weekend of the regular season, all games in which the Rays were defeated. The Rays should focus on adding more offense to their outfield. A bit of pitching depth and the recipe is in place for the Rays to not only trade with their division rivals but maybe overtake them in the standings.
Main Photo Credits: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
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