The Red Sox rank 29th of 30 teams in both homers (36) and runs (187), and their collective 89 wRC+ is better than only three other clubs. The lack of pop has been one of the major factors of Boston’s 22-28 record, and the front office is looking to upgrade the lineup.
Club president Sam Kennedy told WEEI’s Greg Hill in a radio interview yesterday that the Red Sox were looking into trades, and the Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey wrote today that the team would prefer to add a right-handed hitter. Some positions are obviously more of a need than others, but McCaffrey writes that Boston “is looking to add any offense in general.”
Willson Contreras leads the Sox with a 140 wRC+ and has first base locked down. Catcher is probably not a major position of need since Connor Wong is providing roughly league-average offense, even if Carlos Narvez isn’t hitting much. Mickey Gasper has also hit well in a small sample size since being called up from Triple-A a couple of weeks ago, giving the Red Sox even more depth at the catching position.
Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela have been very productive, while Masataka Yoshida has been so-so as a part-time DH and outfielder. While Jarren Duran has struggled and Roman Anthony is on the injured list, the Red Sox outfield is still crowded enough that the team would likely only be looking to add a part-time bat in that area. Since Rafaela is the only right-handed bat within that group of five outfielders, this is where another righty-swinger might come in handy for platoon purposes, as Anthony’s continued absence creates some opportunity for playing time on the grass.
Shortstop, second base, and third base are the most obvious target areas, as the Sox have gotten little to nothing from Marcelo Mayer, Trevor Story, Caleb Durbin, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Story will be gone for at least the next six weeks recovering from hernia surgery, and Mayer will now move from second base to get some playing time at shortstop in Story’s absence. Maybe it’s possible that the shift back to his original position could increase Mayer’s overall comfort level and unlock his bat against Major League pitching, but in any case, the Red Sox still want to give Mayer regular looks at the big league level.
Durbin was the centerpiece of a six-player trade with the Brewers in February, so the Sox aren’t going to entirely abandon him despite Durbin’s extreme struggles at the plate. IKF was signed to a one-year, $6MM deal over the winter and was viewed as a part-time player at best, so reducing his playing time (or maybe releasing him entirely) in favor of another right-handed hitting infielder seems like the most probable option. Andruw Monasterio and Nick Sogard are also around in the infield mix but the Red Sox might prefer an external answer and a more proven bat.
Whether such an established bat can be found just two months into the season remains to be seen. Though we’re less than a year away from the June blockbuster that saw the Red Sox themselves send Rafael Devers to the Giants, it is more likely that any external additions come in the form of a waiver claim or a trade for a recently-designated player rather than the Sox landing a true everyday starter type.
Teams generally prefer to wait until much closer to the trade deadline to pull the trigger on truly significant deals (whether as buyers or sellers), and all the parity in the American League adds another layer of difficulty to trade talks. Only five AL teams have winning records, leaving 10 clubs still technically in contention — for all their issues, the Red Sox sit two games out of a wild card slot.
Kennedy alluded to the situation by saying “there’s some National League teams that are, I’d say, more engaged in conversations than typical at this time of the year….Will we be able to get a deal done or match up on something I have no idea is the truth, but there’s conversations, there’s urgency, and that’s something that’s that’s important, and hopefully something that could be done, you know, earlier rather than later.”
Among teams not expected to contend this season, the Cardinals and White Sox both have winning records, so they’re probably going to play things out further before considering selling. The Angels should be in sell mode but rarely operate in such a fashion. The Rockies, Marlins, and Nationals are all likely open for business already when it comes to moves, and one wonders if Washington’s CJ Abrams might be on Boston’s radar if chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is open to a major infield shakeup. Nats president of baseball operations Paul Toboni came to his current job after a decade in the Red Sox front office, so Toboni has plenty of knowledge about the Boston farm system.
The firing of manager Alex Cora just 27 games into the season indicates there’s plenty of pressure on the organization to turn things around, and Breslow’s job security has also come into question since Cora’s removal. With this in mind, it is possible Breslow might be more open to dealing prospects if it means adding a major bat quickly. Top prospect Franklin Arias is surely unavailable and Breslow will be understandably hesitant about dealing from the team’s minor league pitching depth. But, since asking prices are always inflated in trade talks at this time of the year, rival front offices are surely going to try and capitalize on any perceived desperation on Boston’s part.
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