After a hectic three months, the MLB offseason is starting to wind down. In less than three weeks, Boston Red Sox pitchers and catchers will report to spring training in Fort Myers, Florida.
The Red Sox have accomplished a lot this winter, mostly by upgrading their pitching staff. They’ve traded for Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Johan Oviedo. They also signed Ranger Suarez, whom they formally introduced at Fenway Park on Wednesday.
However, several holes remain, especially in the infield. Boston could still use another big bat to replace Alex Bregman, who unexpectedly signed with the Chicago Cubs this offseason.
Fortunately, there’s still time for the Red Sox to do so. Although they’ve already traded a lot from their farm system this winter, that appears to be their preferred method for adding an impact hitter based on Wednesday night’s report from MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.
“This is not a surprise or particularly revelatory, but have heard the Red Sox are, in fact, involved in serious trade talks all over the place when it comes to adding to the positional player group,” Cotillo wrote on X.
He added context in a follow-up post.
“This isn’t a ‘I think a massive trade is about to go down in the next 24 hours’ but more of a ‘they have a lot of irons in the fire.’ Truthfully, it’s a worthless tweet. Spots remain.”
When asked who Boston might be pursuing, Cotillo didn’t provide specific names but believes a Ketel Marte trade is unlikely.
“I don’t have names/can’t handicap likelihood on certain targets at this point (and am not withholding them, that doesn’t happen) but my read is the targets are relatively obvious and no, I don’t think Marte is traded anywhere,” Cotillo wrote.
This tracks with Craig Breslow’s comments during Suarez’s introductory press conference on Wednesday. He said that he’s staying engaged with other teams and is still searching for ways to improve the Red Sox’s roster before the season starts.
Breslow has already swung several blockbuster trades during his tenure, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him make another one this offseason.
