It just won’t work
It’s almost hard to believe that some people are apparently ready to pack in the season in the middle of May. Yes, it’s frustrating to watch essentially the same results as 2023 and 2024 play out on a daily basis. The same .500 memes. The same calls for Alex Cora to be fired. And I’m not here to tell you it’s early and the team is about to go off. But I am going to say that this year isn’t 2023 or 2024. There are no clear options to sell on this team.
First, there’s Alex Bregman. The Red Sox third baseman, currently posting an OPS of nearly 1.000, can opt out after the season. With the $40 million he’s owed this year, that would make him a steep rental. Point Bregman. On the other hand, can he do better than 2/$80 as he enters his age-32 season? Especially with the baseball season possibly threatened in 2027 over another collective bargaining agreement? Hard to say. And if they were selling, Bregman wouldn’t be on the list.
Then there’s the starting rotation. While it is possible that Walker Buehler and/or Lucas Giolito have some value by the end of July, the rotation is thin enough as it is and starting, say, Sean Newcomb and Cooper Criswell two-fifths of the time isn’t going to fly. Those games would often be brutal and require even more from the bullpen (we’ll get there). You’re not trading Garrett Crochet or Brayan Bello. Hunter Dobbins? Tanner Houck? Houck you might just be hoping is healthy enough to return and pitch well!
This isn’t Qui-Gon Jinn telling Jar-Jar Binks they won’t be robbed because they have nothing of value. The Sox can’t trade from the rotation because they’re already short on starters, good, bad, and middling.
The bullpen…uhhh. Well, the bullpen is costing them a lot of these games. Blown saves. Widening deficits. Giving up runs simply because the starter only goes 4.X innings and there’s just a lot of time to fill.
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Aroldis Chapman is 37 this year. He’s had a good start to the season. Maybe he’s back in the majors for 2026. Maybe he’s retired. Maybe he’s in Boston again. I guess he’s tradable. But a rental reliever may not fetch too much as Boston needs to win as many close games as possible which is why they need to keep Chapman if he’s effective.
Obviously Rafael Devers is going nowhere. Ditto Kristian Campbell.
Jarren Duran would be strange. Ditto Wilyer Abreu. Both are relatively good and relatively inexpensive. And trading one of those outfielders would likely result in calling up Roman Anthony. It’s not often a team that is dismantling then decides to call up the top prospect in the game. It’s a really “what are you doing?” head-scratching kind of move.
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Ceddanne Rafaela falls into the weird to move category too. He’s your best defensive center fielder. If you trade him but not Duran you still call up Anthony. Heck, maybe you play Anthony in center. Either way the trade is an attempt at improving at a position. It’s possible an outfielder is moved for, say, a starting pitcher. But that would be another head-scratcher. Or maybe a “break glass in case of emergency” deal. But then again, is there really nothing on the farm to acquire this hypothetical pitcher?
This mostly leaves us with the bench guys (Hamilton, Refsnyder) and Trevor Story. Moving Story doesn’t even give you a path for Roman Anthony. It does help with Marcelo Mayer, but we’re back at “calling up reinforcements” which isn’t what sellers do.
I don’t know what Craig Breslow will pull out of his sleeve for the next few months but firing Alex Cora or shedding valuable players to get a return and clear a path for the prospects isn’t in the cards.
As absolutely frustrating as the team has been they remain just 2.0 games out of a Wild Card spot. They have help on the way in the infield and outfield from the farm system. This is a team that, no matter what the move is, has to buy.