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Dodgers, Braves Among Teams To Show Interest In Freddy Peralta

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Though the Brewers have continually downplayed the possibility of actually trading him, ace right-hander Freddy Peralta continues to draw a wide array of interest. Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic include the Dodgers and Braves among a list of teams to inquire with the Brewers, joining a group of previously reported clubs that includes the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox. All of those clubs are still believed to have interest in the righty.

Peralta’s appeal is obvious. He’s a durable 29-year-old righty with a 3.30 ERA over his past five seasons, including a career-low 2.70 earned run average this past season (albeit with rate stats and fielding-independent marks that suggest it’s more reasonable to expect a low-3.00s ERA than another sub-3.00 mark). Peralta averages nearly 95 mph on his heater, misses bats at a high level, has only slightly worse-than-average command and, crucially, is earning just $8MM next season. That’s his final year before free agency, but even as a one-year rental, a team surrendering young talent to acquire Peralta would know that he’ll likely net a 2027 draft pick, as he’s a virtual lock to receive and reject a qualifying offer.

For luxury-paying clubs, Peralta’s modest salary is particularly enticing. That’s all the truer for teams like the Yankees, Mets and Dodgers, who figure to be in the top penalty tier for at least a third consecutive season. Those clubs are effectively paying double for any subsequent additions to the payroll. The Dodgers are already in the top tax bracket and thus would pay a 110% tax on any new additions to the payroll. The two New York clubs are just shy of the top tax bracket, but even while sitting in the third penalty tier, they’d be subject to a 95% tax. And both are close enough to the fourth-tier threshold that Peralta would put them right up against it or push them over.

For the Braves and Red Sox, the penalties would be far less severe. Atlanta didn’t pay the tax at all last year and is currently in the first penalty tier. They’d receive only a 20% ($1.6MM) slap on the wrist for adding Peralta’s salary to the ledger. The Red Sox would be crossing the tax line for just the second straight season, as they were under the threshold in 2024. They’re currently about $3MM shy of the tax cutoff, per RosterResource. As a second-time offender they’d pay a 30% tax on the first $20MM by which they exceed the limit. For Peralta, that’d be only a hair over $1.5MM.

In terms of roster fit, it’s pretty easy to see how Peralta would fit onto any of the listed clubs. Atlanta currently has Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Reynaldo Lopez and Hurston Waldrep lined up as its likely top five. Each of Sale, Strider, Schwellenbach and Lopez missed time with injuries in 2025. Lopez started only one game. Sale missed more than two months with fractures in his ribcage. Schwellenbach’s season ended in late June when he suffered a fracture in his right elbow. Strider posted a 4.45 ERA in his first season back from UCL surgery. Waldrep was impressive as a rookie but tossed only 56 1/3 innings in the majors.

The Dodgers certainly don’t “need” more starting pitching, but the old “no such thing as too much pitching” adage applies to veritably any club. Adding Peralta would be about further deepening the club’s October options. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan and Justin Wrobleski give the Dodgers an embarrassment of riches, and high-upside younger arms like River Ryan, Gavin Stone and Kyle Hurt are all on the mend from 2024 surgeries. Top prospect Jackson Ferris isn’t far from MLB readiness. It’s a deep group, but the Dodgers probably don’t want to simply presume that all of their more established arms will be healthy for the postseason. Bringing in another top-tier arm to join the group would further bolster their choices as they pursue an elusive threepeat.

The Yankees have yet to make an addition to the big league roster, beyond re-signing Ryan Yarbrough on a cheap one-year deal and selecting righty Cade Winquest from the Cardinals in the Rule 5 Draft. With Carlos Rodon, Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt all ticketed to open the season on the injured list, they could use some rotation help. The Mets, meanwhile, have subtracted more big names than they’ve added this winter. President of baseball ops David Stearns knows Peralta well from his Milwaukee days. The current Mets rotation is heavily reliant on rebounds from Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea as well as notable steps forward from prospects like Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat. The Red Sox have added Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo to what was already a pretty deep mix, but Peralta would be a clearer No. 2 option behind ace Garrett Crochet than Gray or right-hander Brayan Bello.

Other teams have surely shown interest in Peralta. Earlier in the offseason, it was reported that the Astros had looked into him, but they’ve since added Mike Burrows in a trade and Tatsuya Imai in free agency. The Orioles have shown interest as well, though Baltimore acquired Shane Baz and re-signed Zach Eflin, at least reducing some urgency. (Peralta would still be a notable and needed upgrade to the top end of the staff.) The Athletic’s report notes that some lower-payroll clubs are also looking into Peralta, given that his $8MM price point is affordable for any team.

Broadly speaking, it stands to reason that any 2026 postseason hopeful in the sport has probably at least gauged the asking price on Peralta. Rosenthal and Sammon suggest that a major league-ready starting pitcher is very likely to be a starting point in any talks regarding Peralta. Milwaukee won an MLB-best 97 games in 2025 and is seen as a favorite in the NL Central as a result. The Brewers know they could also get a compensatory pick in the 2027 draft if and when Peralta departs via free agency. They’re a revenue sharing recipient who doesn’t pay the luxury tax, so that pick would come at the end of the first round. That establishes a pretty reasonable base line that needs to be exceeded in any trade talks, and targeting MLB-ready help for a win-now club is only natural.

A Peralta trade shouldn’t be seen as likely. Milwaukee brass has publicly downplayed the possibility, but the Brewers will never fully close themselves off to trades of any notable stars as they approach free agency. Milwaukee traded Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams and Josh Hader near the end of their original windows of club control, after all. However, the Brewers also held onto Willy Adames for the 2024 season, knowing he’d likely reject a qualifying offer and depart via free agency, which is precisely how things played out. Keeping Peralta would give Milwaukee a deep and talented rotation, as he’d be joined by Brandon Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski, Quinn Priester and Chad Patrick, with depth options including Logan Henderson, Tobias Myers and former top prospect Robert Gasser, who’ll be returning from Tommy John surgery.

Red Sox Sign Devin Sweet To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox have signed right-hander Devin Sweet to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Worcester but may get an invite to big league camp in spring training.

Sweet, 29, has a limited big league track record. He tossed 8 2/3 innings in 2023, split between the Mariners and Athletics. He allowed ten earned runs, giving him an unsightly 10.38 earned run average in that small sample.

The M’s called him up in July of 2023 but he was designated for assignment the following month and went to the A’s via waivers. In the 2023-24 offseason, he went to the Giants and Tigers via waiver claims. Detroit later passed him through waivers unclaimed in February of 2024. In November of 2024, the Phillies acquired him and added him to their 40-man, preventing him from becoming a minor league free agent. He was outrighted in August of 2025 and then became a minor league free agent at season’s end.

Despite his limited track record, the interest from all those clubs demonstrates his appeal. From 2021 to 2024, he tossed 257 2/3 innings on the farm, with a 4.19 ERA. His 9.2% walk rate was a bit high but he struck out 30% of batters faced. Unfortunately, he had a downturn in results in 2025. He logged 51 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 5.08 ERA, 21.2% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate. That’s why the Phillies bumped him from the roster last summer and no one claimed him.

For Boston, there’s no harm in a non-roster deal for some extra bullpen depth as they see if Sweet can bounce back. If he eventually earns his way onto the roster, he still has an option year remaining and less than a year of service time, meaning he can provide roster flexibility and is still years away from qualifying for arbitration.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Red Sox Have Made “Aggressive” Offer To Alex Bregman

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While the Red Sox have spent most of the offseason focused on the trade market to augment their roster, they now appear to be turning their attention towards free agency. ESPN’s Buster Olney reported in an appearance on an episode of the podcast “First Up with Korolnek and Colaiacovo” (audio link courtesy of Foul Territory’s Robbie Hyde) that the Red Sox made an “aggressive” offer to Bregman before speculating that Bregman will ultimately return to Boston.

The market for position players has been fairly quiet since Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso signed during the Winter Meetings last month. While third baseman Kazuma Okamoto’s free agency wrapped up yesterday when he signed with the Blue Jays on a four-year deal, Bregman remains the top dog available at the position ahead of Eugenio Suarez, Ramon Urias, and Yoan Moncada. The best overall infield talent available this winter aside from Bo Bichette, Bregman lingered on the free agent market last offseason before signing a three-year, $120MM contract with Boston that included multiple opt outs and significant deferred money. That deal worked out quite well for both sides, as Bregman turned in a 125 wRC+ and 3.5 WAR in 118 games before returning to the open market this winter.

With that said, he’s once again struggled to find a market for the sort of long-term deal he’s been seeking. Boston has been known to have interest in a reunion, but there have been indications that the Red Sox are reluctant to go long-term on him (or any other free agent, for that matter). They’ve kicked the tires on plenty of alternative options this winter, ranging from trades for infield talents like Ketel Marte, Brendan Donovan, and Isaac Paredes to pivoting towards another player like Okamoto or Bichette in free agency. At this point, however, Okamoto is off the market and Marte appears unlikely to be dealt.

Perhaps the dwindling alternatives have led Boston to step up their pursuit of a Bregman reunion, though it should be noted that an “aggressive” offer does not necessarily mean a long-term one. It could certainly be argued that the $40MM average annual value (which dropped to just under $32MM after factoring in deferred money) deal Bregman signed with the Red Sox last year was an “aggressive” offer thanks to the high annual salary and player-friendly opt out structure, and that deal maxed out at just three seasons. So, too, could the Tigers’ best offer to Bregman from last winter be called aggressive, as the six-year, $171.5MM offer topped the winning bid by more than $50MM in terms of total guarantee and was the longest of the final offers Bregman received.

Regardless of what Boston’s offer to Bregman currently looks like, it seems as though market forces may be pushing the two sides back together. As previously mentioned, a few of the Red Sox’s potential alternatives to Bregman have started to come off the market or otherwise become less likely. Meanwhile, Bregman’s own alternatives to Boston could also be dwindling. Just as Okamoto signing in Toronto takes him off the table for the Red Sox, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports that the deal makes Bregman signing with the Jays less likely despite mutual interest between the sides prior to Okamoto’s signing. Likewise, there have been connections drawn between Bregman and the Diamondbacks, but that could become less viable for Arizona to pull off financially if a Marte trade is taken off the table.

Even if the Jays and Diamondbacks aren’t the likeliest suitors at this point, other options are still available. The Cubs remain involved in Bregman’s market at least to some extent, though they (like the Red Sox) seem hesitant to commit to long-term deals for most players. The Tigers have seemingly remained on the periphery of Bregman’s market but don’t seem to be an especially aggressive suitor. The Phillies were recently reported to have at least some interest in Bichette and could theoretically fit Bregman as well, though they haven’t been tied to Bregman directly and even the Bichette connection seems to run in contrast with previous reporting suggesting that their room to spend is somewhat limited at this point.

Red Sox Notes: Giolito, Bullpen

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Despite declining his end of a mutual option for the 2026 season, right-hander Lucas Giolito was and is very open to returning to the Red Sox, the pitcher himself told WEEI’s Rob Bradford in a guest appearance on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast. However, Giolito also was realistic about the slim chances of that happening in the wake of Boston’s acquisition of Sonny Gray (and Johan Oviedo). Asked if the trades for Gray and Oviedo were a signal that the team plans to move on, Giolito replied, “That’s what I think,” adding that the “writing is on the wall” with regard to the fact that a reunion is unlikely.

Giolito delved further into his free agent experience a second time around, explaining that he’s more focused on what he can control this time around instead of stressing over the day-to-day of the process. He’s upped his workout regimen and is experimenting with reincorporating a sinker into his repertoire. He hasn’t thrown a two-seamer since the 2018 season but is working out at Cressey Performance Center this winter and working on an updated version of the pitch.

Though Giolito will likely be taking that new-look sinker to another club, the Red Sox don’t figure to be done on the pitching front. Tim Healey of the Boston Globe breaks down the team’s bullpen, highlighting the lack of established options beyond Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock and Greg Weissert while noting that at least one, if not two external additions could be in the cards for Breslow in the final few months of the offseason.

The Red Sox are paying Jordan Hicks $12MM in each of the next two seasons, so he’ll surely have a leash of some note, but he’s coming off a lost season in which he was rocked for a 6.59 ERA while posting a career-worst 18.5% strikeout rate. Manager Alex Cora talked up Jovani Moran as a potential left-handed option, but the 28-year-old has struggled through injury and poor performance since a promising rookie campaign with the Twins back in 2022.

While Boston is lacking in established southpaw options, much of the free agent market has thinned out considerably in recent weeks. A reunion with veteran Justin Wilson would make sense, speculatively speaking, but each of Steven Matz (Rays), Gregory Soto (Pirates), Hoby Milner (Cubs), Caleb Thielbar (Cubs), Caleb Ferguson (Reds), Drew Pomeranz (Angels) and Sean Newcomb (White Sox) has already signed this winter. Wilson, Danny Coulombe, Taylor Rogers, Andrew Chafin and Brent Suter are all still available. JoJo Romero is the most obvious name on the trade market, if the Red Sox want to circle back for what would be a third trade with the Cardinals.

Joe Kelly Announces End Of His Playing Career

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After 13 Major League seasons, reliever Joe Kelly has decided to call a career, as the right-hander told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford on a recent edition (audio link) of the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast.  In his usual irreverent fashion, the 37-year-old Kelly declined to say he was officially retiring, taking issue with the term itself.

“Retiring is like, something that my grandmother did….I’m sorry all you people out there watching this that work a real job.  You guys deserve to retire, athletes don’t,” Kelly said.  “We just stop [expletive] playing, okay?  Let’s cancel the word ’retirement.’  It’s used for people who [expletive] served in the military, used for people who worked until 65…When athletes are done playing, just say ’congratulations, they’re no longer playing.’ ”

Kelly last played during the 2024 season, tossing 32 regular-season innings for the Dodgers.  He didn’t sign a contract last winter, and stated last July that he was planning to showcase himself in a throwing session for the Dodgers alone, saying that he only wanted to pitch for Los Angeles if he returned at all.  That session came and went without any fanfare, and Kelly told Bradford that continued injury problems convinced him to hang up the glove.  “I can throw 98 [mph] like nothing…[but] I threw a pitch and like strained again, so like ’nah, I’m done,’ ” Kelly said.

High velocity has been a bedrock of Kelly’s career, as he averaged 95mph on his fastball in his MLB debut season with the Cardinals in 2012.  A move to the bullpen added even more heat, as Kelly had an average velo of 98.2mph over the final eight seasons of his career, and he topped the 102mph mark at his peak.  While Kelly’s fastball drew the most attention, however, his sinker (which also regularly sat in the upper 90s) and curveball were his most effective pitches at finishing off batters after Kelly set them up with his standard fastball.

A third-round pick for the Cardinals in the 2009 draft, Kelly made his MLB debut with St. Louis in 2012 and he tossed his first 266 big league innings in a Cards uniform.  A notable swap at the 2014 trade deadline saw Kelly and Allen Craig sent to the Red Sox in exchange for John Lackey, and while the trade was panned by Boston fans at the time, Kelly’s development into a valued member of the Red Sox pen has made the deal a little more palatable for Red Sox Nation in hindsight.

Kelly struggled with injuries and consistency over his first two full seasons as a starter with the Sox, and a move to relief pitching in 2016 helped him at least spend less time on the injured list.  Kelly had a 4.33 ERA over his entire 359 1/3 inning tenure with the Red Sox, but he shone brightest when posting a 0.79 ERA over 11 1/3 frames during the 2018 postseason, playing a big role in Boston’s World Series championship victory.

After helping beat the Dodgers in that Fall Classic, Kelly then went to L.A. on a three-year, $25MM free agent deal.  Some early struggles made that signing look like a potential bust, but Kelly righted the ship and finished with a 3.59 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate, 59.9% grounder rate, and 9.8% walk rate over 105 1/3 innings in that three-season span.  The highlight was another postseason success and a ring in 2020, with Kelly allowing one earned run over 4 2/3 innings during the Dodgers’ title run.

A two-year, $17MM contract with the White Sox followed for Kelly in advance of the 2022 season, but the injuries started to really pile up, leading to a only a 5.59 ERA over 66 innings in a Chicago uniform.  Acquired again by the Dodgers at the 2023 trade deadline, Kelly suddenly regained some of his old form in posting a 1.74 ERA the rest of the way.  Los Angeles brought him back for a one-year, $8MM contract for the 2024 season, but Kelly’s health problems continued and he managed just a 4.78 ERA in his final 32 innings in the Show.  While he wasn’t part of the Dodgers’ playoff roster, Los Angeles’ World Series victory meant that Kelly earned his third ring in what ended up as his farewell season.

Over 485 games and 839 career innings in the majors, Kelly had a 3.98 ERA, 51.8% grounder rate, 21.1% strikeout rate, and a 9.8% walk rate.  His postseason resume consists of a 3.45 ERA over 60 innings, and a particularly impressive 2.03 ERA across 13 1/3 innings in the World Series.

Along the way, Kelly created quite a reputation for himself as a character.  Kelly’s competitiveness sometimes led to a pair of high-profile suspensions, but his willingness to defend teammates only added to the fuel of the rivalries between the Red Sox and Yankees, and the sign-stealing scandal inspired feud between the Dodgers and Astros.  Between his big fastball, erratic control, and eccentric personality, Kelly welcomed all comparisons to “Wild Thing” Rick Vaughn, to the point of wearing #99 with the Dodgers after giving his #17 jersey to the incoming Shohei Ohtani.  (This gesture resulted in Ohtani gifting a Porsche to Kelly’s wife Ashley.)

We at MLBTR congratulate Kelly on a fine career, and we wish him all the best in retir….er, his post-playing endeavors.

Latest On Tigers, Alex Bregman

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The Tigers made a strong push to sign Alex Bregman last offseason, offering the third baseman a six-year, $171.5MM deal (with some deferred money) that included an opt-out clause for Bregman following the 2026 season.  With Bregman back on the market this winter, the Tigers are again in the mix, but in more of a “lukewarm” fashion, according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.

This more or less echoes Petzold’s last report on Bregman from earlier this month, and “the Tigers haven’t shown any new movement” in subsequent weeks, a source tells Petzold in his latest piece.  Since Detroit was apparently the only team to offer Bregman a contract longer than four years last year, Petzold suggests the Tigers may be trying to leverage this interest into seeing if they could possibly wait out the rest of Bregman’s market.

The Blue Jays, Cubs, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox are Bregman’s other known public suitors, and Petzold adds the detail that Chicago and Boston “haven’t shown a willingness to offer a long-term contract.”  This was the case last winter as well, as the Cubs reportedly offered Bregman a four-year deal (with multiple opt-outs) in the $115MM-$120MM range, and the third baseman ended up signing a three-year, $120MM deal with the Sox that allowed him to opt out after each of the first two seasons.

Bregman is entering his age-32 campaign, and he hit .273/.360/.462 with 18 home runs over 495 plate appearances for Boston in 2025.  His season was marred by a quad strain that sidelined him for just under seven weeks, as well as a deep slump over the last five weeks of the season.  These flaws notwithstanding, Bregman’s hot start earned him his third career All-Star nod, and his veteran influence within the young Red Sox clubhouse was heavily praised.

It was an altogether solid year for Bregman, and an across-the-board improvement over his 2024 slash line.  However, it may not have been the type of standout campaign that inspires a team to make the type of five- or six-year offer it wasn’t willing to make last offseason, though Bregman isn’t tied to a qualifying offer this time around.

A few other factors complicate Bregman’s market.  Bo Bichette and Kazuma Okamoto are still free agents, and Okamoto’s posting window is up on January 4.  It could be that the teams in on Okamoto (including both the Red Sox and Blue Jays, as per reports) could be first waiting to see where he lands before moving on other infield targets.  Boston and Toronto have also each shown interest in free agent Bo Bichette and trade candidate Ketel Marte, and moving Marte’s contract might be Arizona’s first step towards freeing up enough payroll space to go after Bregman.

While Bichette is thought to be the Blue Jays’ priority and Bregman perhaps Boston’s preferred target, the two teams have been connected to so many infielders that the Tigers, Diamondbacks, and Cubs could stand out since it seems like Bregman is the only big-name infielder on their radar.  Chicago’s offseason has been dominated by multiple bullpen additions and reports linking the Cubs to multiple free agent starters, but there hasn’t been a ton of buzz about any major position-player adds to replace Kyle Tucker.  That said, the Cubs also met with Pete Alonso during the Winter Meetings, so it isn’t as if the team is closing itself off from a pursuit of a premium bat.

As Petzold notes, there is certainly a scenario where Bregman’s other suitors all either stand pat or make other acquisitions, leaving the Tigers as perhaps the only club still open to giving Bregman a longer-term deal.  Depending on how things play out, Bregman and agent Scott Boras could conceivably pivot to another shorter-term, higher average annual value type of contract with an opt-out or two.  Bregman didn’t sign with the Red Sox last winter until mid-February, which could be a sign that Bregman is happy waiting until he gets an acceptable offer, or he might prefer more stability this time rather than another protracted stay in free agency.

Since the Tigers have yet to sign a free agent to a deal longer than two years in the Scott Harris era, Motown fans would prefer that the club is a little more proactive or aggressive in finally landing a big target.  Being patient with Bregman naturally creates the risk that he’ll just sign elsewhere, leaving Detroit now having to play catchup if the team wants to make a significant lineup upgrade.  The Tigers are one of the teams to explore the idea of trading for Marte, so that might present some type of alternative if Marte is also still in Arizona when Bregman comes off the board.

Red Sox Continuing To Pursue Infield Help

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12:33pm: Speier’s report has subsequently been updated to highlight Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan as a fifth infielder the Red Sox are currently focused on.

Donovan, 29 next month, is among the most discussed trade candidates in baseball this winter. In addition to being a capable defender all over the infield and outfield, Donovan sports a career 119 wRC+ and has delivered 6.0 fWAR (5.3 bWAR) in just 271 games over the past two seasons. As a left-handed batter, Donovan wouldn’t be as effective in balancing a heavily left-handed Red Sox lineup as the right-handed Bregman, Bichette, and Paredes (or even the switch-hitting Marte), but he does come with two years of affordable team control.

Newly-minted Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom is certainly familiar with Boston’s farm system at this point, both due to trades involving Contreras and Sonny Gray from earlier this offseason and also due to his years spent as chief baseball officer for the Red Sox prior to Craig Breslow’s tenure at the helm. Notably, the competition for Donovan’s services figures to be steep. Seattle and San Francisco were previously reported as front-runners for the utility man’s services earlier this month, while the Royals, Guardians, Astros, and Pirates are among the other teams to have been connected to Donovan.

10:26am: The Red Sox have long been known to be looking for a right-handed bat to add to their infield mix, and they found one when they swung a trade with the Cardinals to acquire Willson Contreras. Contreras figures to settle into an everyday role with the club between first base and DH, but even with the veteran slugger in the fold Alex Speier of the Boston Globe notes that the Red Sox remain in the market for another big bat for their infield. Speier specifically highlights four potential targets for the Red Sox: free agents Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette, Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes, and Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte. While Speier acknowledges that alternatives to that group exist in both free agency and on the trade market, those four names appear to be the focus on Boston’s efforts at this point.

The specific names themselves aren’t exactly new information. Bregman, of course, was an impactful player for the Red Sox this past season after signing a three-year, opt-out laden deal with the club last offseason. After slashing .273/.360/.462 in 114 games and notching his third career All-Star appearance, Bregman opted out of the final two years of that deal to return to free agency. A reunion with Boston has long appeared to be the most obvious fit for Bregman, and the team’s interest in a reunion is well-established. With that said, the Red Sox are known to be hesitant about offering long-term deals in free agency; Bregman’s three-year pact with the Red Sox last year was the longest free agent contract Craig Breslow has doled out during his tenure as chief baseball officer. With Bregman known to be seeking a longer-term deal this winter, it’s unclear if the Red Sox would be willing to break with their established preference for shorter-term contracts in order to sign Bregman to a five- or six-year deal that would take him into his age-36 or -37 campaign.

As for Bichette, the Red Sox reportedly conducted a video meeting with him earlier this month. Bichette stands as the top infielder available in free agency this winter on the heels of a season where he slashed .311/.357/.483 for the Blue Jays in 139 games. Bichette isn’t quite as clean of a fit for the Red Sox as Bregman would be, in terms of position. A reunion with Bregman would allow Trevor Story and Marcelo Mayer to stay at their current positions up the middle, while Bichette is a shortstop who has shown a willingness to play second base but may not feel the same way about the hot corner. With that said, most of Mayer’s time in the majors last year actually came at third while Bregman was injured. Perhaps, then, Bichette could be a preferable addition to Bregman. While he would require a contract just as long as (or perhaps even longer than) Bregman, Bichette is four years younger than Bregman. As a result, even an eight-year deal for Bichette wouldn’t come with as many years of expected decline as a five-year deal for Bregman.

Turning to the trade market, Marte has rivaled Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan as the most popular name available on the market this winter. While the Diamondbacks have made clear that they aren’t actively shopping Marte and expect to keep their star second baseman, the three-time All-Star has slashed .288/.374/.539 over the past two seasons with a wRC+ of 149, 10.9 fWAR, and 11.2 bWAR across 262 games. That’s the sort of production that compels teams to check in on a player if there’s any chance they could be available, and the Red Sox are among the teams to do so this offseason. Marte would be on Boston’s books through the end of his age-37 campaign if acquired, though the $102.5MM guaranteed left on that deal is very affordable compared to the going rate for star players.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to acquiring Marte would be the acquisition cost; while the Red Sox are known to be open to dealing from their controllable pitching depth, free agent deals for Merrill Kelly and Michael Soroka have helped to fill out the Diamondbacks’ rotation enough that the team might prefer to bring back some positional talent to help fill the void created by Marte’s departure. Trading an elite prospect talent like Mayer or Kristian Campbell would be a tough pill to swallow for the Red Sox, especially if paired with a controllable rotation arm like Connelly Early or Payton Tolle.

That could make another player on the trade market more attractive. While Paredes isn’t a star on the level of Marte, Bichette, or even Bregman, he would still bring impact to the Boston infield. The 26-year-old hit .254/.352/.458 (128 wRC+) in 102 games for the Astros last year and has slashed .239/.341/.442 (124 wRC+) since the start of the 2022 campaign. Paredes offers a consistent, bat-first profile at third base that should be attractive to the Red Sox, especially considering the slugger’s relative affordability. Paredes is slated to make his penultimate trip through arbitration this offseason, and with two years of affordable team control covering his age-27 and -28 seasons, the Red Sox need not commit to him long-term or be on the hook for any of the years following his prime.

As for his availability, Houston GM Dana Brown has publicly suggested the team has no desire to trade Paredes but he has still drawn interest from the Red Sox nonetheless. Notably, the presence of Carlos Correa and Christian Walker at the infield corners (to say nothing of Yordan Alvarez at DH) limits Paredes’s paths to playing time in Houston, which could make a trade more feasible. The Astros already brought in Mike Burrows to help fill out their rotation but could certainly still benefit from additional young pitching, which the Red Sox are more than capable of providing. Prior reports have indicated that Early and Tolle are both players the Astros are interested in, and moving one of those arms out as the centerpiece of a Paredes deal could make plenty of sense.

Red Sox Notes: Contreras, Casas, Rafaela

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The Red Sox landed an impact bat in Willson Contreras on Sunday. The longtime catcher made the move to first base last season, and that’s expected to stick in Boston. “We see him primarily at first base, maybe some DH opportunities. But the more that we can get his bat in the lineup, the better off we’re going to be,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told reporters, including Sean McAdam of MassLive.com.

Contreras bounced around a bit when he first came up with the Cubs, even logging innings at third base and the corner outfield spots, but spent the majority of his time behind the plate. He served as Chicago’s primary catcher from 2017 through 2021. Conteras split his time fairly equally between catcher and DH in 2022. He went to St. Louis in 2023 and continued to play both catcher and DH somewhat evenly. The Cardinals changed course this past season, slotting Contreras in as their primary first baseman. He also made the occasional start at DH.

Heading into 2025, Contreras only had 11 career appearances at first base. He made 119 starts at the position this past season. Contreras delivered fine to solid defensive results, depending on the metric. Outs Above Average looked favorably on Contreras, with a +4 grade. Defensive Runs Saved wasn’t as kind at -1. Given Contreras’ significant contributions as a hitter, Boston will likely be fine with close to average defensive numbers. The 33-year-old has posted a wRC+ of at least 124 in four straight seasons.

Boston has Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong penciled in as its two backstops. Narvaez had just six games of big-league experience when he was dealt from the Yankees to the Red Sox last offseason. He emerged as a reliable offensive contributor, hitting 15 home runs and slashing .241/.306/.419 across 118 appearances. Wong fell off significantly after a strong 2024. He failed to get on track at the plate after missing most of April with a broken finger. Wong has shown enough in the past to be relied on as a backup heading into next season, and it seems he’ll maintain that role if Boston isn’t interested in playing Contreras at the position.

The Contreras addition immediately puts Triston Casas’ role into question. For his part, Breslow expressed optimism about Casas’ outlook. “We still have a ton of confidence and belief in Triston. What he needs to do is commit to doing everything possible to get back on the field. He’s doing that right now,” Breslow said, relayed by Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Casas is currently recovering from a ruptured patellar tendon that cost him most of 2025. His status for the start of next season is uncertain.

Casas has frequently come up in trade rumors this offseason, even before Boston acquired Contreras. The fact that the team added a player at his position could increase the chances he’s on the move. The main inhibitor toward a potential deal is Casas’ recent performance, both in terms of production and health. He hit just .182 over 29 games before going down with the knee injury. Casas was better in 2024, but also spent three months on the injury list with a rib strain.

It’s not just Contreras pushing Casas, either. Boston has another DH option in Masataka Yoshida, who’s been squeezed out of the outfield mix by Jarren Duran, Roman Anthony, and Ceddanne Rafaela. Wilyer Abreu also performed well last year, mostly against right-handed pitching. Breslow didn’t sound overly concerned about the potential roster glut. “Those things tend to work out. (It’s an) opportunity to keep everybody fresh, to keep everybody involved and engaged at the same time.”

Sliding Rafaela to the infield could help alleviate some of the roadblocks for Casas and the young outfielders, but that isn’t the current intention of the club. “We’re a better team with Ceddanne in center field, and we’ll try to keep (him) there,” Breslow said, per Ari Alexander of 7News Boston WHDH. Rafaela earned a Gold Glove in center field this past season.

After splitting his time between shortstop and center field in 2024, Rafaela was primarily on the grass this past season. He made 19 starts at second base, but the rest of his appearances came in the outfield. Rafaela was one of the most impactful defenders at any position in 2025. He tied for second with Alejandro Kirk in Statcast’s Fielding Run Value metric. Patrick Bailey was the only player to be more productive as a defender.

Second base is an area of need for the Red Sox at the moment. If the season started today, Boston would likely be rolling with an uninspiring platoon of Romy Gonzalez and Nick Sogard at the position. Kristian Campbell could factor into that mix, though he’ll need to show more in the minors to earn another big-league opportunity.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images

Brayan Bello Receiving Trade Interest From Rival Teams

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The Red Sox have gotten a lot of calls about right-hander Brayan Bello, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon.  The source who shared this information with Rosenthal/Sammon pushed back, however, on the idea that the Sox had “quietly shopped” Bello themselves, as one rival executive framed the situation.

On paper, it would seem odd that the Red Sox are trying to move Bello when they’ve spent most of the offseason trying to reinforce their rotation.  Bello is coming off a season that saw him post a 3.35 ERA over a career-best 166 2/3 innings, and the righty has tossed 486 games over 87 games (86 of them starts) for the Sox over the last three years.

Back in March 2024, the Red Sox showed their commitment to Bello by locking him up to a six-year, $55MM extension covering the 2024-29 seasons, and Boston holds a $21MM club option Bello for the 2030 season that includes a $1MM buyout.  Bello doesn’t even return 27 until May, so between his age and the long-term contract, it would seem like the Red Sox have a homegrown arm locked into the rotation for at least the remainder of the decade.

As Rosenthal and Sammon point out, however, it makes some sense that the Red Sox might at least be testing the waters about what they could get for Bello, given the value of controllable starting pitching.  Even if “control” in this sense reflects Bello’s extension rather than a player’s arbitration or pre-arb years, Bello’s remaining price tag of $50.5MM over the next four seasons seems like a fair price, and potentially even still a bargain.

While Bello has been solid over his four MLB seasons, it can be argued that the Red Sox were hoping for a bit more from a pitcher who posted much bigger strikeout numbers in the minors.  In the Show, Bello has only a 19.8% strikeout rate over 543 1/3 career innings, and his 17.7K% this season was the lowest of his career.  He has an unspectacular 8.3% career walk rate to go along with that lack of missed bats.

Bello has gotten good bottom-line results by limiting hard contact, and inducing a lot of grounders, with a 52.7% groundball rate for his career.  His 95.2 mph fastball has solid velocity but Bello’s sinker is his primary pitch, even if the sinker’s effectiveness hasn’t tended to vary in consistency.  Over his career, Bello’s 4.09 ERA isn’t much below his 4.26 SIERA, but that gap stretched much wider (3.35 to 4.55) in 2025.

The Red Sox entered the offseason with plenty of big league-ready or experienced arms in their organization, but there was a clear goal of raising the rotation’s ceiling with more established hurlers.  To date, Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo have been brought in via trades with the Cardinals and Pirates, respectively, and now project to be part of Boston’s 2026 rotation.  Richard Fitts and left-handed pitching prospect Brandon Clarke were dealt to St. Louis for Gray, lower-level righty Jesus Travieso was moved to Pittsburgh as part of the Oviedo trade, plus Boston sent right-hander Hunter Dobbins and two more lower-level arms to the Cardinals in a separate trade for first baseman Willson Contreras.

Whether the Red Sox are actually trying to actively trade Bello or are just listening to offers out of due diligence remains unclear, as the Rosenthal/Sammon item implies.  The truth may lie somewhere in between all of the common offseason hot stove terminology.  Still, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has said his team is open to moving controllable pitching “in order to address other areas of the roster.”

Trading Bello would be a much different animal than moving a pitcher like Fitts or Dobbins or someone else not even guaranteed of a big league job in 2026, yet in a sense, a Bello deal would be an elevated version of the raise-the-ceiling strategy.  If the front office has some misgivings over Bello’s ability to sustain his production, or he is no longer viewed as a pitcher who can reliably be counted on for a playoff rotation, the Red Sox could potentially look to deal Bello.  Speculatively, he could be dealt for a more clear-cut frontline pitcher with fewer years of control, or perhaps moved to address a need in the lineup.

Within that same notes post, Rosenthal and Sammon also write that the Red Sox remain engaged with the Cardinals about Brendan Donovan.  Boston is one of many teams linked to Donovan’s market, however, and the most recent reports suggested that the Mariners and Giants were the favorites to pry Donovan away from St. Louis.  That said, Cards president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom has shown plenty of willingness to swing trades with his former Boston team, and Bloom’s time running the Sox front office overlapped with a big chunk of Bello’s career.  Speculatively, the length of Bello’s extension could make him a factor in a Cardinals rotation even after the team is through its rebuild period, even if the Cardinals are more likely to explore higher-end prospects in any Donovan trade package.

MLBTR Podcast: Three-Way Trade, Murakami’s Short-Term Deal, And Willson Contreras To Boston

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

  • The Mets Sign Jorge Polanco, And The Braves, Blue Jays And Royals Make Moves – listen here
  • Winter Meetings Recap – listen here
  • An Agent’s Perspective with B.B. Abbott – Also, Cease, Williams, Helsley, And Gray – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images

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