The Red Sox are looking to bolster the lineup. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that the Sox are considering signing one or maybe two of Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, Kazuma Okamoto, J.T. Realmuto and Alex Bregman. MLBTR covered the club’s interest in Schwarber and Realmuto earlier this month. Bregman was with the Sox in 2025 and team employees often complimented him for his skills and leadership abilities, so it’s unsurprising that they would want him back.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow admitted earlier this month that the Sox would be looking for front-of-the-rotation starter and a middle-of-the-order bat this winter. While some Boston fans weren’t thrilled with the move, the Sox feel they ticked off the first box by acquiring Sonny Gray from the Cardinals this week. After the Gray trade, it was reported that the Sox would be shifting their focus to the lineup.
There are certain spots on the field where it’s easier for the Sox to add. They appear to be set in the outfield, so much so that a trade to clear out some space feels inevitable. Masataka Yoshida is perhaps slated to be something like an everyday designated hitter at the moment, though it’s possible a trade of him or another outfielder will open that spot a bit more. On the infield, Trevor Story is going to be back at shortstop.
The infield corners are more open. With Bregman opting out of his deal, third base is free. The Sox could fill that spot internally with Marcelo Mayer but he could also take over at second base. Triston Casas is a possibility at first but the Sox likely don’t want to rely on him after a 2025 wherein he struggled before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Alonso is one of the better power bats in the league. He has been good for about 40 homers per full season, give or take a few, throughout his career. He just hit 38 bombs this year. His 8.6% walk rate was a career low but his .272 batting average a career high. Put it all together and he slashed .272/.347/.524 for a 141 wRC+, the eighth-best wRC+ tally among qualified hitters in the majors this year.
Despite his skills with the bat, his market is unclear. He’s not a great defender and he’s not a burner on the basepaths. He was a free agent a year ago, coming off a lesser platform season, and didn’t find the long-term deal he was looking for. He returned to the Mets on a two-year, $54MM deal with an opt-out halfway through.
After putting together a better season at the plate, he opted out to take another crack at finding that elusive long-term deal. He is reportedly hoping to get a seven-year commitment this winter. That’s an ambitious ask for a guy who is about to turn 31 and isn’t known for his athleticism, though he is apparently willing to spend more time as a DH going forward. MLBTR predicted him for a four-year, $110MM deal.
Alonso would undoubtedly add some thump to the Boston lineup. The fact that he hits right-handed should also be attractive, since the current group skews to the left side. The question will be if they can line up on a price. There’s still belief in some circles that the Mets and Alonso could reunite again, though he presumably has interest from plenty of other clubs as well, in addition to the Red Sox.
RosterResource estimates the Sox currently have a competitive balance tax number of $223MM, a little more than $20MM below next year’s $244MM base threshold. They have been willing to occasionally pax the tax in recent years. It appears they went a bit over the line in 2025. Perhaps reaching the postseason and developing a young core will convince ownership to push spending a bit higher in 2026.
Okamoto would be more of a wild card since he doesn’t yet have major league experience, but he’s also plenty interesting. From 2018 to 2024, he hit at least 27 home runs in each season for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. In 2025, he was limited by injuries to just 69 games but had his best performance on a rate basis. He hit 15 homers in that time and slashed .327/.416/.598 for a 210 wRC+.
Defensively, he has primarily been a third baseman in Japan but has also spent a decent amount of time at first with brief stints in left field. Some scouts believe he can handle third base in the big leagues for a while but others feel he would be better off at first. He’s currently 29 years old and will turn 30 at the end of June. Like Alonso, he swings from the right side and would be a good fit for the lefty-heavy lineup.
There’s always a risk that a wild card player like this won’t be able to adjust to the major leagues as hoped. This is something that Boston fans know well, having watched Yoshida struggle lately. But Okamoto has plenty of appeal. MLBTR predicted he could land a four-year, $64MM deal, which doesn’t include the posting fee which would be owed to the Giants. He has already been connected to the Pirates but should have lots of other suitors as well.
If the Sox end up adding a player who projects to spend a lot of time at first, it would presumably increase the chances of Casas ending up on the trade block. He has already been in plenty of trade rumors over the years. As mentioned, the DH spot is already a bit crowded, so it would be hard for Casas and someone like Alonso to co-exist on the same roster.
Casas still has options and could technically be sent to the minors but he’s overqualified to be a depth piece. From 2022 to 2024, he hit 42 home runs in 840 plate appearances. His 26.9% strikeout rate was a bit high but he drew walks at an excellent 14.2% pace. Overall, he hit .250/.357/.473 for a 127 wRC+. His 2025 saw him put up a dismal .182/.277/.303 line but that was in a tiny sample of 112 plate appearances and with a .217 batting average on balls in play. His walk rate had dropped to 9.8% but he also improved his strikeout rate to 24.1%.
It would be understandable if the Sox don’t want to bank on Casas after those struggles and the surgery to address the ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee. But if they replace him with a more reliable option like Alonso, then it would make sense to flip Casas for pitching or some other upgrade. He is still controllable for three seasons and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a modest $1.7MM salary next year. MLBTR listed Casas 24th on our list of the Top 40 Trade Candidates at the start of the season.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
The Red Sox still need a 1B ace or a real #2 starter. Cease may have been risky but that deal with the Blue Jays was very do able for them.
Alonso and Okamato may be nice bats and they will balance the lineup well, but neither have a defensive reputation. Story’s defensive WAR was .8. Solid but they need provide at least similar defense at 3B and 1B. Mayer should be at least solid at 2B.
In Boston or Cincinnati, new nickname could be “Red Panda”.
Sox tried a Red Panda a while back, it didn’t turn out too well.
Hahahaha Fat Panda
That was a Kung Fu Panda
I agree, Sonny Gray didnt pitch well in the second half of ’25 — there is some concern with his age. Could double down on veterans and sign Verlander on a one year deal would be a good fit. He pitched pretty well down the stretch.
The big ticket would be Alcantara or Cabrera. I think Miami competes for the NL East next season with Alcantara, Cabrera and Perez at the top of their rotation, I don’t know why they would trade any of them in the off season.
I’d go the cheap route though and sign Adrian Hauser or potentially make a trade for a young starter like Shane Smith or Sean Burke. If the White Sox can move Luis Robert, a trade for Cedeanne Rafaela would be great and both Smith and Burke pitched a full season in ’25, both pitched fairly well.
That would give Boston
Crochet
Bello
Gray
Sandoval
Hauser / Smith / Burke
Crawford
Tolle
Harrison
Early
Dobbins
Work to add a starter at the trade deadline if you are in position to improve and have a legitimate shot at winning.
Shane Smith for Rafaela could work out and Smith would be a nice addition to the rotation.
People forget Alcantara struggled for the full season before he went under the knife, not just the full season after his return.
Right, he struggled with elbow pain.
Shane smith for Cedanne Raffaela is a flat out terrible trade for the red sox.
You want to trade Ceddane Rafaela for a Rule V pick that was only an All Star for the White Sox because someone had to be?
Shane Smith – 145IP / 145K with a 3.81 ERA (4.10 FIP)
in his rookie year. He has a big body, 6’3 / 240 lbs. and doesn’t rely on his fastball to get hitters out, sits 96 with the heater, has two looks (4 seamer and a sinker), changeup, slider and a slow curveball.
He is the player in the trade with the most value. Four years of team control. He had a good season and has the makeup to be a good pitcher.
Smith is not the player in the trade with the most value. The gold glove winning center fielder with the extremely team friendly contract with seven more years of cost control is. Not the”big bodied” rule five pick who at best is number 3/4 starter on a championship team.
Those numbers aren’t overly impressive and not worth giving up a player of Ceddane’s quality alone.
.250 BA with a .290 OBP and 16HR / 20 steals, great defense, he is a good ball player – I like Rafaella but starting pitching is where the premium is, it’s fairly significant too. Look at the deal Cease just landed.
Cease had a 4.55 ERA and is for the most part a two-pitch pitcher in his age 30 season who relies on the heater and the slider to get hitters out.
I like Rafaella, I’d like to see the White Sox add a young position player or two and rely on some of their pitching depth this season. Trading Smith could accomplish that but I like Smith a lot, I think he has a great makeup, like his pitch mix, he could be good for a long time.
you can’t use what Cease got in free agency as way to justify a premium for a player like smith. Smith’s track record of success is basically zero compared to Cease. furthermore teams always end up “paying a premium” IE spending more money for pitching in free agency because they have to compete against other teams to be the highest bidder.
You’re also minimizing Rafaella’s impact on the game. He won a gold glove and his offense is improving. He’s shown the ability to be great while smith has barely shown an ability to be good. He’s also younger than Smith with more team control. The “premium” player in this equation is Rafaella not smith.
The premium is attributed to the position of the player, not the player.
The Cease deal is reflective of the position premium.
You can apply the position premium to Shane Smith because he is a starting pitcher.
Shane Smith is established, 145 innings with 3.81 ERA, its only one season and you could discount it because it is a rookie year but dont count him cheap because he was a rule 5 selection.
The fact is if you plan on signing a pitcher of Smith’s quality in FA, you probably look at a player like Lucas Giolito, also a K an inning guy. Smith is a similar pitcher, far younger with far less injury history, that increases Smith’s value relative to his replacements in FA.
Giolito is looking at a 20M AAV over two or three seasons. Smith is playing for 750K this season. If Smith gets hurt, he can be non-tendered. If Gio gets hurt, you’re on the hook for 20M in ’27. That is a big difference. That makes Smith incredibly valuable.
Rafaella has a good contract, is a good player with room for improvement but he has risk attached to him, his money is locked in. His season last season makes him a 15M player playing on a 2.5M dollar contract this season (Kiermaier is my comp, 1yr. / 10.5M with the Jays in 2023).
If you peg Smith to Gio, add surplus value for his age and his contract flexibility, Smith is more like a 25M dollar player playing on a 750K contract this season, even if you discount him for only having one season under his belt. That’s how I see it.
As such, his value is greater than Rafaella’s making Smith the premium player in this hypothetical trade scenario.
Again you’re making a massive leap comparing Smith to Giolitto. Giolitto had more than one season where he has shown to at minimum be a competent MLB pitcher. Smith is not establish whatsoever after one season.
Also the ability to non tender someone doesn’t increase their value because more likely than not the player probably sucked and hurt your team instead of helping it if you had to non tender them so that in and of itself is a logical fallacy much like the Cease contract comparison. Cease is established albeit inconsistent MLB pitcher. Smith is not. And if said team traded an established big league every day regular for player that got non tendered, that would be complete disaster.
If you want to talk about risk, smith is way more risky as a pitcher with basically no track record of consistent success and the ability to cut him doesn’t lessen that risk. No baseball executive in their right mind would trade an established MLB player for someone like Smith who is at best a number four starter on a playoff team. So in your hypothetical trade Rafaella is more valuable to the point where any GM would be fired on the spot for valuing Smith at the level you’re putting him at.
Not for nothing but I’ve never seen anyone in their right mind argue that the ability to non tender a player enhances that players value. If a team had to non tender a player that they were counting on, that’s generally ranges from a bag thing to an outright disaster and does increase said player’s value.
rely on some of their pitching depth this season.
========================
Smith wasn’t drafted and wasn’t ranked. I had him on my roto team last year, but I’d need to see another good year before I’d think about that trade.
On the above, on the top of my list was the WS as an over bet in 2026. But I’m not seeing any pitching depth in the rotation. You or any WS fans want to learn me up a little on their pitching? Love Leasure & Taylor, but the rotation?
No ABS in ’27
I agree, Sonny Gray didnt pitch well in the second half of ’25
====================
The age is a concern, but the 2nd half concern was mostly a July concern. He had a 4.10 in Aug-Sep. Certainly not a lock, but it was a good season overall.
A shot at winning helps – has great K/BB and K/9, HR/9 is up, a year older. A great 3 need Bello to be your 2.
Okamoto has good defense, you are thinking of Murakami, the 50hr guy with no D.
Heyman is a well-known mouthpiece for Scott Boras. This story is a plant by the Boras factory.
Go ahead Pete, sign with Boston. Your BFF Nimmo is in Texas.
Bye Felicia.
Goose: According to the article, Gray checks off the no. 2 starter box. If you don’t like it, that’s your problem.
Show us on the doll where Sam Kennedy touched you.
Goose: Why are you obsessed with Sam Kennedy? Nobody else has mentioned him. Has he harmed you in some way?
I still say go all in and sign all three bats and a pitcher (or let Bregman walk and put Eugenio Suarez in this spot with even more thump than Bregman):
A World Series win brings over $100M in profit to a big league club. It’s worth to go over for a couple years as you still win in the end. Dodgers are WAY over and it’s paying off in spades for them. It also increases the value of your Club substantially when winning consistently.
Red Sox lineup 2026
1. (L) Roman Anthony – LF
2. (R) Alex Bregman – 3B
3. (L) Kyle Schwarber – DH
4. (R) Pete Alonso – 1B
5. (L) Wilyer Abreu – RF
6. (R) Trevor Story – SS
7. (L) Marcelo Mayer – 2B
8. (R) Ceddanne Rafaela – CF
9. (R) Carlos Narvaez – C
Reserves
1. (R) Romy Gonzalez
2. (R) Kristian Campbell
3. (R) Connor Wong
4. (R) Jhostynxon Garcia
Pitchers
1. Garrett Crochet – LHP
2. Freddy Peralta – RHP / Joe Ryan – RHP
3. Sonny Gray – RHP
4. Brayan Bello – RHP
5. Patrick Sandoval – LHP
Relief Pitchers
1. Justin Slaten – RHP
2. Connelly Early – LHP
3. Jordan Hicks -RHP
4. Peyton Tolle – LHP
5. Kyle Harrison – LHP
6. Zack Kelly – RHP
7. Hunter Dobbins – RHP
8. Kutter Crawford – RHP
9. Cooper Criswell – RHP
10. Luis Perales – RHP
11. Hayden Mullins – LHP
8th Inning
1. Garrett Whitlock – RHP
Closer
1. Aroldis Chapman – LHP
Traded Players:
1. Jaren Duran
2. Masataka Yoshida
3. Tristan Casas
4. Richard Fitts
@Popgun13
The Sox may get one of Bregman, Pete or Schwarber, but DEFINITELY NOT ALL THREE!
Come on dude, get out of Fantasyland, the sox arent spending that much, nowhere near it and you think we are getting Peralta too? lol,
Your post is a complete joke, please stop the nonsense.
“You can say he’s a dreamer, but he’s not the only one…”
@poly and Alfred,
Historically speaking, you are correct. With that said, many people like you also said the Dodgers would also never spend the kind of money they are spending. Oddly enough, the Dodgers have done something pretty remarkable, spent $400M per year and had their most profitable year EVER as an organization and grew the overall value of the Org dramatically in the process, breaking the mold and showing not only that it can be done, but you can make a ton of money doing it.
Win a WS and make an additional $100M plus easily in today’s market.
Win another and double that number and raise add significant equity.
Red Sox have the money and the lineup I posted is still under $300M, 75% of what the Dodgers are spending.
For Alfred, believe it or not, players want to be part of a winning team, especially as they age and they know their chances get less and less to compete for a WS.
So, sign a 4 year deal and have a high likelihood of competing in a WS, or hold out for a 7 year deal with way worse odds? Also, simply because a player wants a 7 year deal, doesn’t mean they are getting one.
So, the Red Sox have a “window in time” right now where they can build a powerhouse team, with not to done additional capital, and become the dominant East Coast team very quickly.
You sign or trade for a solid #2, and sign a guy like Schwarber quickly, what big bat does not want to join that lineup (that also has a stellar pitching staff – top to bottom – not just the starting rotation)? That’s a rhetorical question, you don’t have to answer it.
So yeah, historically the Red Sox would not sign all 3 bats and a #2 starter, but I could very easily see 3/4, and the off chance the 4 wants to be part of something special for the next 4-5 year run.
Popgun13: What makes you think the Red Sox will make the best offer for all three guys or that they’re all willing to come to Boston?
If I remember correctly, we had a defense problem as well.
Cards trading Fitts back to the Sox??? Lol
He had Fitts as one of the players they traded which has already happened. He did not show Fitts in the rotation.
You’re 5 players over the 26-man roster.. some of the RPs are going to fill out AAA starting rotation (Harrison, Tolle, Early) to start the season.
Correct. The point of listing them all was to show how deep the pitching is, especially for free agent big bats that want a shot at winning a title. Schwarber won one and wants another crack. Alonso has never won one and has publicly stated it’s his “major goal” in his career. Bregman has 2, and wants a 3rd.
I would love to see Vegas odds with the lineup posted above. Players pay attention to how the roster is filled out.
Shane Smith (SP)
Edgar Quero (C)
-for-
Red Sox:
Triston Casas (1B)
Juan Valera (SP)
Harold Rivas (OF)
Justin Gonzalez (OF)
As a White Sox fan, happy to keep Smith, but we have a lot of pitching depth on the farm and if we can add a nice player like Casas and some nice prospects I think it would be a good trade.
Casas plugs in immediately at 1st Base. Rivas and Gonzalez are both good for the rebuild.
the Red Sox are aiming a lot higher than smith.
The Sox never spend that much in an off-season in free agency. Those three hitters add probably $80 to a $100 million to next years payroll.
Look at the Red Sox history even in the off-seasons before championship seasons you’ll see the big gets were:
2004: Curt Schilling, Keith Foulke, Pokey Reese, Mark Bellhorn
2007: J.D. Drew, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Julio Lugo, Joel Pineiro, J.C. Romero, Hideki Okajima
2013: Ryan Dempster, Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, David Ross, Jonny Gomes, Koji Uehara, Stephen Drew
2018: J.D. Martinez
Most of those were one big deal and several small 1 or 2 year deals
The Dodgers had never spent wildly either, and now look at them. If you get stuck in the past and only look in the rear view mirror, you are going to slam into the car in front of you. Smart organizations pay attention to what works and follow, especially when they are one of the few with the resources to do so.
The Dodgers signed the first $100 million dollar contract in MLB history and while they never went crazy in spending the Dodgers have always spent. Plus Boston isn’t the same market as Los Angeles and while the Red Sox have the ability to spend the Dodgers can afford to spend more recklessly
The net worth, or valuation, of Fenway Sports Group (FSG) is approximately $14.19 billion, according to a July 2025 estimate. This valuation makes FSG the fourth most valuable sports empire in the world and is based on its ownership of teams like the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool F.C., as well as investments in other sports and media properties.
Current Valuation: Approximately $14.19 billion.
Ranking: Fourth globally among sports empires.
Key Assets:
Boston Red Sox (MLB)
Liverpool F.C. (Premier League)
Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
New England Sports Network (NESN)
PGA Tour Enterprises (stake)
Fenway Sports Management
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing (NASCAR)
The net worth of the Dodgers ownership group is not publicly available as a single figure, but its value is estimated at approximately $7.73 billion, according to Sportico in October 2025. The group’s most prominent member is principal owner Mark Walter, who has a personal net worth of around $6.1 billion as of February 2025.
The ownership group, led by Mark Walter and Guggenheim Partners, purchased the Dodgers in 2012.
According to the latest valuations, the team itself is worth about $7.73 billion.
The group’s financial strength is closely tied to Mark Walter’s net worth, which is estimated at $6.1 billion as of early 2025.
Other investors in the group include Magic Johnson, Peter Guber, and Todd Boehly, but they are minority partners.
What were you saying again?
The Boston Red Sox are worth approximately $4.8 billion, according to a March 2025 Forbes report. This valuation ranks the team as the third most valuable in Major League Baseball.
In 2022, the Boston Red Sox organization was valued at $3.9 billion, according to Forbes. This valuation placed them as the third-most valuable franchise in Major League Baseball at the time, behind the New York Yankees ($6 billion) and the Los Angeles Dodgers ($4.075 billion).
The Los Angeles Dodgers organization is valued at approximately $7.73 billion, according to a recent valuation by Sportico. This value is higher than the franchise’s 2025 estimate of $6.9 billion from Statista and places them just behind the New York Yankees as the second most valuable MLB team and one of the most valuable sports franchises overall. Factors contributing to this high value include a lucrative local TV contract, significant sponsorship revenue from new partnerships, and the blockbuster signing of Shohei Ohtani.
In 2022, the Los Angeles Dodgers organization was worth approximately $4.08 billion according to Forbes, making it the second-most valuable team in Major League Baseball at the time. Other reports, like Sportico.com, put the value slightly higher at around $4.89 billion.
So the Dodgers have spent wildly the last 3 years by $100M more than the next closest and have increased the value of their team by over $3B (that’s Billion with a B). They basically turned $300M into $3B. Pretty good ROI.
So enough of the talk that the Red Sox can’t afford it.
The numbers and the philosophy speak for themselves.
Coors, Story came back and from June on, his bat played. His September defensive meltdown is unexplainable but I would put him at 2nd where his offfense become very good for the position.
Just because the Cease deal was “do able” for the Sox doesn’t mean they should have done it. Toronto massively overpaid and will regret the deal sooner than later…
Not even a pirates fan but I hope this means they can get casas on the cheap.
I don’t understand why they’d trade Casas. His trade value should be next to nothing after missing essentially two seasons with injuries. Better to let him regain some value with his bat and then trade him. But they can’t do that with Yoshida’s subpar bay clogging up the DH spot.
Yoshida and Casas are both bad, and if the red sox can they should move both of them to make room for better hitters. Doesn’t matter what the return is because neither one will get them much more than cash considerations/some milb filler. The roster spots going to literally any other players who replace them are the most valuable commodities.
Casas put up a 129 OPS+ in 2023 and a 124 OPS+ in 2024 – albeit shortened with injuries. He hit 24 HR as a rookie in 2023.
You keep his bat and you drop Yoshida easily.
Casas isn’t bad, he’s just gotten unlucky with injuries.
Joemo there’s more to it. Casas had a rough start to the season and I believe that happened because the hitting coach and his team tried to make Casas into what he wasn’t. They made a big deal out of hunting pitches early in the count basically to swing a lot more. In theory it sounds good but Casas is best when he takes a few pitches he has such a great eye for the strike zone and he’s been a borderline passive hitter since he took his first professional swings. I remember Fatse talking about it and how he was to passive. In June, July, and August of 2023 when he was one of the best hitters in baseball he took a lot of pitches and then hammered the mistake pitches this is what he is. If you’re a pitcher and can mid nineties heat up and in the strike zone you’re going to get him but if miss your spot middle down he’s going to hammer it. He’s also a notorious slow starter the problem for him he got injured before he got hot. It’s a lazy argument to say the guy can’t hit because he absolutely can you just have to let him be what he is and not to try to make him something he is not.
Joe – The thing is, Casas really struggled to start this year.
Was it because of the ribcage injury lingering? Or something else?
He is a total question mark right now with the two separate major injuries the past couple seasons.
Bruin – good points. But maybe that’s a reason for this regime to trade him. He doesn’t like up with their philosophies or whatever.
I hate this philosophy that the Sox are chasing, that all players need to follow the same mold. Different body types and different approaches can be successful, the coaches should be able to get the most out of the players. I think I’m just over Fatse and Driveline and their hitting approach. But hey, maybe it works and I’m just not seeing it.
Well then they better trade Anthony the as well he’s a passive hitter much in the same mold as Casas.
Bruin – Roman already told Fatso and Lawson to shove their hitting approach up their tablets, he’s not changing his approach and neither is Mayer.
KC did and look what happened to him.
The types of injuries Casas had are as concerning as the fact he gets injured.
He had torn cartilage with a cracked rib. Then he ruptured a tendon.
I havent been to med school or anything, but, that makes me question that theres something with his body and the connective tissues that gives me pause as to how he will age or bounce back from these injuries.
GaSox – Totally agree, his conditioning has always been an issue as his teammates took exception to his insistence on sunbathing and napping instead.
BTW – Happy Thanksgiving! You doing anything today or just chillin’?
GNR is playing Truist next year, I bet that’s a great venue for a concert.
“I hate this philosophy that the Sox are chasing, that all players need to follow the same mold.”
As always when I read your posts, I wonder, what in the heck are you talking about?
GhostofThomasHamilton: I don’t Joemo has the foggiest notion either.
As soon as pitchers figured out how to pitch to him, he was done. He couldn’t make the adjustments he needed to make – and that was before he got hurt. He’s an odd dude in general and sometimes you just need to cut bait as the roster spot is more valuable than what he will ever get in return.
Funny how no one mentions how Yoshida was their best bat once Anthony went down. No power but an excellent bat and if dealt, the receiving team will end up happy. Mark my words.
GA: as someone who does have a medical background I can tell you that if he had a true connective tissue problem he wouldn’t be playing professional baseball.
Also More lies and nonsense from FPG. GA it was obvious you weren’t talking about a conditioning problem. However, ligament injuries in general are not related to conditioning issue and no player or coach has ever raised that concern about Casas.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to let him show he is healthy in spring training and trade him at that point when his value is a bit higher. May be too late at that point to get the player they want, but at least he would have some value.
Joemo – I couldnt agree with anything more. The standardization of the baseball player is a big mistake. Having cookie cutter, robots is lazy for organizations and boring for fans.
Everybody likes to disparage the Dodgers because they spend. But, look at the team, old school flawed players like Muncy and Teoscar blended perfectly with the the young new blood.
Theres no reason to think that to be successful you need 8 interchangeable robotic players that all swing and field the same!
FpG- if you remember Bello did the same thing during the middle of the 2024 season with pitch selection models. He showed improvement in 2025.
Al, Ghost – The Red Sox are attempting to create an organizational structure for both hitting and pitching tgat starts in the majors but filters all the way down through the minors as well.
It based on statistical analysis and very dependent on the philosophy of Driveline.
The Red Sox have hired nine people from Driveline — more than any other team — including the founder, Boddy, who is entering his second season as a special adviser to Breslow.
It may be working, or it may ruin some otherwise useful players. Let’s see what happens to Campbell, who many say is a victim of Driveline.
Hey Dewey – Yoshida was a surprise to me when he got back. I dont necessarily think he didnt get any credit, but the guy has no position and as an everyday DH doesn’t bring a flair for big homeruns to the party. He’s just a hard guy to get excited about
dewey – Great post, I totally agree! If he’s healthy, he will produce.
Uncle – I agree with your premise, but not with the timing. Trades almost never happen in ST or during the first couple months of the season. A deadline trade would be more likely, he needs to re-establish his value in real games …. ST is kinda meaningless.
If Yoshida plays in the WBC, which he probably will, it would be a great opportunity to have look attractive to other teams …. as both a hitter and maybe even a slightly below average fielder.
Sad – I’ve been saying the same thing for years, great minds ;O)
Sad – It’s like any approach, it could work for some but not others.
Did the Lau/Hriniak approach work for everyone? Nope.
Sad – He generated a lot of excitement 2 years ago. His teammates loved him, the fans loved him …. the whole “Macho Man” thing, the inflatable dumbbells, he really captivated everyone until he wore down that year.
FPG- the Lau analogy is a great one! Way to frame the conversation.
Im trying to remain open minded about it
Happy Thanksgiving Fever… its a quiet one this year.
Ill tell you, Metallica had that place rocking!
Im not going to say Casas ever did as a young guy (possibly even pre redsox) but those kind of injuries can happen from a young kids heavily using certain ‘supplements’… whats concerning is he didnt hurt himself on freak instances, like getting hit by a pitch. He got hurt doing normal every game baseball activities.
Now if you want a foil hat moment, what if he painted his nails all those years to hide injections under the fingernails, and not just cause he wanted to be like his mom?
Yeah Acell, im not concerned about conditioning.
I know enough that every body looks a little different inside, just like outside. Some people have smaller tendons, or weaker ones. Stuff like that.
The question is, of its something about his particular body, or, the side effects of something he may have done as a high school kid and whatnot.
It is unusual though.
We’ll know more as things go forward, after several more years. Was it just really really bad luck close together? Or will a pattern continue?
FPG
I will admit there was a time when players from the KBO or Japan really intrigued me. It seems to me now most do not live up to there previous play. The high velocity of MLB pitching??? Do you like any of these guys? I know you like Suarez,but does he really offer anything more than power? Since my choice (Naylor) is no longer an option, if they could sign Alonso to a deal no longer than 5/6 years is my next choice. And as I have stated before, resign Bregman,and trade for a legitimate #2. They have the pieces and $$$ to do anything they want.
Also I believe Toronto grossly overpaid for Cease because they cannot attract free agents to Canada. 7 years,$30 million per . Yikes
GaSox – He’s got a long injury history prior to 2024..
2018 wrist injury
2022 ankle sprain
2023 shoulder inflammation
cdc – hi !
Yeah none of the Japanese free agents really thrill me, and the the Red Sox reputation they probably wouldn’t sign with the Sox unless it’s another massive overpay like Yoshida.
Agree with you on Cease. Suarez would be much cheaper and can manage at 3B if necessary. Peralta or Skubal, those are the only two I’d trade for.
GaSox – Yeah I don’t really have an opinion on supplements, I’ve never heard that chatter. I guess it’s possible? I do think he’s clumsy, as Joe Castig said he’s got an unusual body with very long legs and a short torso, which may have played a part in the injury at first base.
Maybe the rib injury was due in part to his being told to swing as hard as he can all the time?
I don’t know what to say on the injection theory, do some people really inject under the fingernails? I can’t imagine that would be a smart place to do it.
none of those injuries speak to a problem with condition.
Popgun13
As soon as pitchers figured out how to pitch to him, he was done.
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LOL!
He had a 126 OPS+ for his first three seasons. It takes pro scouts three games to figure out hitters. Three seasons is an eternity in BB.
I don’t remember anyone calling Casas a baseball god. He’s basically exactly what the scout. Good hitter, weak glove, slow.
Coors Field Effect is a Myth
He has only been good for half a season really…
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He had a 126 OPS+ for his first three seasons. I don’t think there is any doubt that he can hit. I’d like to see 600 ABs from him, but he is a fine hitter.
deweybelongsinthehall
Funny how no one mentions how Yoshida was their best bat once Anthony went down.
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I’m not sure more than 50% of our fans even watch BB. Yoshi has basically only had 6 weeks in his career where he didn’t hit. And he hit in September and he hit in the playoffs.
Almost exactly like Story, the ‘fans’ dislike him because he got hurt and he’s overpaid, but that’s all. If he gets 500 ABs, I predict 15-20 HRs, a .275, and 75-85 runs and RBIs. That’s not worth $18.6M, but it will be your average DH.
The overriding point is that the RS cannot depend on his performance. The need a slugging first baseman. I, for one, have suggested putting Anthony at first base, and foregoing trading Duran for pitching. I would option Casas to Worcester, see how he’s hitting there, before trading him for pitching help in the bull pen..
Joe – for me, you’ve outlined the problem fans have with him. He cant play the field, or run. So, on a power starved team if your DH is bringing 15-20 homeruns and 75 rbi to the table, thats not a lot to get excited about
In 2025, they figured him out and was not making the adjustments he needed to: .182 batting average / 580 OPS. Scouts are good, but as soon as a pitcher tries something different (and it works against a guy), it’s gets duplicated until that guy figures it out. This particular guy, didn’t figure it out. He kept seeing the same pitches over and over again and tried to keep his same approach, it he got owned.
Fever- True I probably should have said to let Casas prove himself and unload him at the deadline. I guess the one issue with that is if he is terrible or gets injured again his trade value goes to 0.
Will be interesting to see if Yoshida can showcase himself in the WBC. Granted if we don’t bring in a couple of bats, we are going to be relying on Yoshida again.
Uncle Pedro’s Dancing Kittens: I see a lot of Andrew Vaughn in Casas.
Casas started out looking like he was going to be a star, but just has not lived up to it yet. I wish he had not had the injuries because he will likely be traded before we know what he can do.
Which is basically what happened to Vaughn with the White Sox before he wound up in Milwaukee last year.
Sad.Sox 3 (Skenes in 2027)
if your DH is bringing 15-20 homeruns and 75 rbi to the table, thats not a lot to get excited about
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You’re not supposed to excited about it. You have to put up with a well-paid mediocre DH while addressing your other more urgent needs. We need a 2B or 3B more than we need to upgrade from his projected wRC+ of 112.
Popgun13
In 2025, they figured him out
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It doesn’t take 3 years to figure out a hitter’s weaknesses. I don’t ever remember someone hitting well for three years before pitchers figured out he couldn’t hit outside off-speed, or inside heat, etc.
Joe – the conversation was specifically regarding Yoshida as a stand alone player.
Yes, I agree there are bigger moves to be addressed. If you get more slug in a 1B or 3B the stats that Yoshida had become more palatable, but still not ideal.
The Sox clearly missed a “slugger” in the middlw of the lineup. Its not just the homeruns, but the presence of a bat that makes pitchers and managers address the fact that the slug is embedded in the middle. The player in front of that bat get pitched differently. Yoshida does not provide that.
The Sox hit the 15th most HRs this year. The “contact firat” Blue Jays hit the 11th most.
Is Yoshida the most important move to be made? Not even close. But, the DH position does need to provide more.
Sad- Is Driveline just a focus in the majors at this point? Campbell had solid stats in the minors but when he entered the majors he quickly declined in all of his offensive numbers. I assumed he just came up too quickly and got overwhelmed by the major league pitching, but maybe they changed his approach.
Uncle – thats a good question, that I dont have the answer for. You may be right.
I think Breslow has to bite the bullet and either buy down the Yoshida contract or attach a prospect and trade him. That would open up the DH slot for Casas or Alonzo if they were to add him. Masa hit quite well in September and I think has some value but he just isn’t is a good fit on this team. It’s time to move on from him.
Rafaella is the guy who would return the most in trade. No way they can move Campbell but Rafaella’s deal is reasonable for his performance.
Could probably move Duran too in a similar trade but I like Rafaella.
Rafaella, Yoshida, Casas for Shane Smith, Edgar Quero and Andrew Benintendi could work out.
Yoshida and Benintendi offset in ’26, Boston picks up a year on Benintendi at 15M in ’27.
Quero gives Boston nice depth at Catcher. Shane Smith has four years of team control and is a legitimate 3/4.
The return for the White Sox is a little light with Casas uncertainty but it’s close. I think it’s a good trade, Benintendi is a good hitter.
Why would Boston want Benny back?
The return for the white sox is light? the return for the Red Sox is extremely light and if that trade were made it would be a fireable offense for Breslow
dewey – I don’t think he meant for anyone to take it seriously.
Bruin- I am not convinced that Casas would be an upgrade over Yoshida. Alonzo would definitely give us the pop in the lineup we need, but replacing Yoshida with Casas could end up with even less production in the DH spot. Casas does have more potential to hit home runs but he is too inconsistent.
I think Yoshida is better than he is given credit for. He was one of the few players getting the key hits at the end of the season. Unfortunately he doesn’t have much power and is such a defensive liability in the field. They just need to find someone willing to take him, maybe a team with a big Japanese fan base.
If you sign Alonso to multi-year deal Casas becomes the guy everyone starts calling for, not Yoshida, so it makes sense to listen. Maybe Casas brings back, say Mitch Keller and Colin Holderman, that’s not a bad return for a player that is essentially just as big of a wild card as any of the hitters coming out of Japan
Have no problem moving on from Casas if they can get anything decent for him. I just don’t know how many teams still see value in him especially coming back from an injury. Is he supposed to be ready for spring training? I don’t remember seeing any updates on his condition.
Makes too much sense for a team like Pittsburgh not to pursue him esp since his price tag has to have dropped.
they will not give cases away. he still has options so he can rebuild his trade value.
Casas has too much control remaining for them not to try to let him rebuild his value.
Surprised no mention of Eugenio?
If Bregman walks they will need two big bats. Mayer, KC and Casas are all big question marks and we know Rafaela will have yet another sub-100 OPS+ season.
I’ve been surprised at the lack of Suarez mentions as well. Definitely on the second tier of FAs, but brings a big bat and would absolutely be cheaper.
If Pete wants 7 years, he’s all yours Red Sox
No team is going to offer an obese first baseman, who has no range, no arm and no running ability whatsoever. Pete Alonso is becoming Greg Luzinksi very quickly.
He would put some dents in the monster.
I wished he played 3B Then maybe the Angels go after him..
I be happy with Bregman
Looks like Romy Gonzalez is the new Rob Refsnyder.
Red Sox are going to miss Rob Refsnyder. He would be great in KC or with the Angels.
Is he the one that had suicidal thoughts?
I think you are referring to Duran. I think there is a documentary on the Red Sox that touched on the subject. I don’t subscribe to Netflix.
You’re right
The Sox will need a RH hitting Outfielder on the bench so don’t write off Rob returning just yet
“two of Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, Kazuma Okamoto, J.T. Realmuto and Alex Bregman.”
One of those things is much different from the others
Got problems with Japanese players? Lol. I know you meant JT
Maybe Schwarber because he is so much more powerful than the others? LOL
Alonso has the bat, but he tends to have the bad glove also… buyer be ware
What kind of ware?
horaceallen: Johnny B Ware.
I was leaning more towards Koko
The Red Sox better put Alonso at DH when Crochet pitches. He ruined Senga’s season.
There’s something really funny about the “Red Sox are looking to bolster their lineup” followed by that they’re interested in Realmuto.
IMO Boston should have gotten Alonso last year and kept Devers. That’s a nice combination. Still surprised they traded Betts and Devers
2 bad gloves. nope
I would have Paid for Alonso’s air fare.
The length of the contract was the problem with Betts. He will be PUjols the 2nd. Great for the first half of the contract and an albatross on the second half of the contract.
Betts has won 3 World Series with LAD. His versatility to go from the OF to the IF helped keep the roster flexible.
In 6 years he put up 32.7 bWAR. He needs to put up 8 bWAR over the rest of the deal to make the contract worth it. So this means he’s been underpaid in the first part of his deal. If they paid him what he was actually worth for the first half of the deal, they’d have a much larger luxury tax hit.
Get the Japanese guy and trade Yoshida to LA.
You assume LA wants him in the first place
Red Sox fans can thank me later!
Simply put Vaughn Grissom on either corner infield slot! $ave money 💰 and get some return on that great Chris $ale trade!
(RECAP: Chris Sale + $17M +’24 Cy Young Award for 31 games of Vaughn Grissom)
Grissom has to be a slightly better defender than Alonzo and remember his 1st MLB hit was a Homerun OVER the Monster!
Red Sox need to try Grissom somewhere or risk having the Braves getting him back off waivers for a full circle Trade Gone Wrong! Teams other than Red Sox can LIKE
⬇️HERE!
No thank you. And I’m not a BoSox fan.
Grissom sucks. Is that your strategy, to play a guy to save face.., or would it be a little wiser to admit you made a bad trade and then move on from there?
Your strategy is all about pride and has nothing to do with being successful.
The only way you don’t make bad trades is if you make zero trades.
I love all these Monday morning guys will bring up the Chris sale trade, the Mookie Betts trade, surprised you didn’t bring up Babe Ruth or is that coming in the next comment?
GaryRedSoxxWarriors: Yes. 🤣
RS Total Trades
2020 – 5
2021 – 7
2022 – 5
2023 – 1
2024 – 5
2025 – 5
noname617: What’s your point?
Alfred – I think he’s saying the percentage of bad trades made by Bloom and Breslow is high. Hard to judge though with so many yet TBD.
For instance Narvaez could be a win.
FPG – I think the point on trades, and why the Sox have pivoted to making so many, may be the contract cost and length is more certain and easily digested rather than getting involved with negotiations with Boras, et al
Sad – I totally agree on the reasons for many of the Breslow and Bloom trades, but I wouldn’t think they’ve been making more trades than Dombrowski did. They don’t call him Trader Dave for nothing! LOL
The $10M in salary relief was that main return for Sale after he was hurt for 5 straight years, not Grissom.
Jon Heyman is Boras’ propagandist.
Clickbait article behind a paywall. Brewers are always budget conscious every year. They should have extra money coming their n from the playoffs though
Cit – Wrong article ;O)
Click bait article? There’s 37 paragraphs underneath the headline that explains everything in the athletic article, including some of Darragh’s personal opinions.
What do you mean click bait? I found the article to be very comprehensive. Kudos to mlbtraderumors.
I wonder how different the article would have been if the Brewers didn’t lay down and die for the Dodgers in the NLCS?
The Brewers can cry poor but their roster remains mostly intact and they may have overplayed their hand offering Woodruff the QO betting he’d reject it, they don’t have much work to do so the payroll concerns seem to be more about buyers remorse on a player they really didn’t want to keep and not about being out of the Tucker/Schwarber/Alonso sweepstakes that they were never going to be in anyway
Gary- Am I missing something? The article I see has 15 paragraphs and I don’t see anything related to the Brewers. I am just seeing the one about Alonso being of interest to the Sox, so don’t know if people with subscriptions are seeing more.
Nope, I’m just being a wise guy and we’re both referring to the other article concerning the Brewers.
The commenter says he’s not seeing anything because of the paywall article whereas I mentioned that Darragh tells us exactly what’s in the article and explains it all through several paragraphs.
I usually cry about subscription articles when the rare occasion MLB Trader Rumors author doesn’t tell us what’s behind the paywall. What’s the point of bringing up the headline and not telling us what it’s all about?
But here and as usually the case, Darragh DOES tell us what’s behind the paywall and explains everything in the article so I’m wondering why the commentor would call it Clickbait? Just pushing back on that and being a wise guy.
mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/brewers-reportedly-conc…
I think they do a great job with their articles. I did not get the clickbait comment either.
As much as I’d enjoy having Alonso on my second favorite team, I hope the Mets give him an offer he will accept to keep him there until he retires.
You can have Alonso. Just make sure you have extra insurance for your pitchers.
You realize that in 2024 Senga came back from a long stay on the injury list, attempted to catch a pop fly on the mound, and got another injury to put him out for, basically, the rest of the regular season. Senga is the finest porcelain. Alonso made a poor throw on the play you’re referring to, but a ballplayer should be able to make a jump for a poor throw without contracting bubonic plague.
Alonso has missed 24 games and played 1008 in his career. A lot of this article is about Casas’s injuries. Alonso’s team is probably not going to worry about his injury history
Another off season of lip service from the powers that be in the Red Sox front office. They won’t sign any of the free agent starting pitchers that have the qualifying offer attached, they won’t $pend at the top of the market for the bat(s) that they so desperately need, but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to watch them throw away more $$$ on posting fees for a player. There will be at least 1 more year of lip service like this again during the ‘26 ‘27 off season. The Red Sox true colors are shining brightly, you just need to put your shades on to tone it down so that you can really see what is happening inside Fenway and with those who occupy the seats around the decision making table.
My concern is they are going to sell Gray as a real #2. Then make excuses when they don’t trade Duran or any prospects for a real #2 or a good hitter. Sam Kennedy will blame the fans again.
Coors: Agreed. Gray gives the Red Sox pitching prospects a year to develop and next year’s free agent pitching class is better than this year’s.
Bello needs to continue to take forward steps and be the #2, not Gray. Gray is their to fill the middle role that Giolito and Buehler played. I don’t see the Sox spending big on a starter, they may trade for one or try to find one in the lower tiers but they were never swimming in Valdez/Cease waters anyway
Last year no one would give Alonso 3 years. He has a good year and then immediately goes into the market looking for 7 years. It’s nothing short of delusional. Ask for 20 years, it’s about as realistic.
I too am interested in Pete Alonso, Kazuma Okamoto, but I thought this was a baseball website.
Jon Heyman is Scott Boras’ beeeeeotch…..I can believe ANYTHING he posts.
This!
lmao
Don’t waste our time, they’ll offer all of them 3 year deals with opt-outs after year 1 and they’ll end up signing Travis Shaw to come out of retirement
I would sign Pete and Realmuto, even though I really like Alex bregman he is a small guy and could lose his bat speed quickly
Pete is durable and had a bounce back season and I wouldn’t give 100% trust to narvaez yet especially since his bat wasnt as good in the 2nd half
I think they’ll sell out within reason for Bregman as the whole organization sang songs about his leadership and championship pedigree all year. Not sure of Henry’s appetite for another NPB bet. How the comments section has written off 25 year old Casas is beyond me. Masa can hit and did so in some big spots down the stretch last year. The outfield jam is a curse and a blessing. Hopefully they can turn it in to Peralta or Ryan.
This is starting to sound like a bunch of bullsh@t. There is no way they are getting into bidding wars for most of these guys.
Most offseason articles about “interest” are BS.
This is an unserious WS contender until the Yoshida situation is handled. Nothing against the guy but his production does not warrant a starting job at the DH position on any team seriously trying to contend
Biased but I’ve always been a Pete Alonso fan, would be elated if he came to Boston
I wouldn’t sign any of them for more than 4 years at the absolute most. I like Schwarber but the Sox need a RH hitting bat. Duran/Anthony/Abreu/Mayer/Yoshida are all LH hitters. Granted not all of them may be around on opening day but Alonso makes the most sense. Okamoto is a wild card; maybe he can play 3B at the MLB level but will the offense even remotely transfer to Boston? That is the question
No to Alonso. He’s had his dead cat bounce year. His decline will be quick once it starts.
If they can get Bregman for something fair, then do that. I think he’ll have a typical age related decline and he can actually field a tough position.
And yeah, another starter would be good.
No to trading Cedanne. He catches everything out there and as long as the bat plays average, he’s great.
Alonso should stay with the Mets. I like Bregman on a shorter deal. He should stay. Honestly, too many players switch teams for too much money. It becomes a crap shoot for the wealthy teams. Oh well, that’s baseball.
No thanks.
Mayer/Casas are not MLB ready. Even when “healthy”, they were sub avg players with a history of med issues. Keep them at extended spring training rehab—that really shouldn’t be news.
One of these guys is not like the other. I couldn’t disagree more we have seen what a healthy Triston Casas can be in 2023 after his normal slow start he was one of the best most impactful in baseball. He has shown that upside, even in 2024 he started with a .244/.344/.513 he hit 6 homers in his first 90 plate appearances. In 2025 dumb dumb Fatse tried to change his plate approach by getting him to swing early in the count and he was clearly not comfortable doing that but my guess if he would of remained healthy he would of ended up having a really nice season since he was already starting to take more pitches right before his injury and getting back to being the type of hitter he is. If you want to say due to his serious injuries he may never be the same I think that’s fair but lumping him with Mayer as not ready is flat out wrong.
Marcelo Mayer is in a different offensively he’s clearly not ready but defensively he most certainly is. If he’s your 8th hitter and plays second base and you can live with his probably .225 ish and 15-20 homers as he learns on the go that’s really all you should expect from him. I think he’s going to top out as a good defender and power over hit. It’s hard for me to ever see him being more than a .250 hitter he has too much swing and miss but he has power and I could see him peak out at 30 homers. He, like Casas, also has major injury concerns so he needs to prove first and foremost he can stay healthy.
Hope, wish, pray is not a business strategy. You’re suggesting a base case scenario and not projecting the best interest of the team.
Mayer is certainly in the best interest of the team. He had a .674 OPS as a rookie, with a good glove. Start him at 3rd, and never look back.
I disagree on part of your mayer take in that I think he will top out as a significantly better hitter than batting only .250
Need a big bat to protect Anthony otherwise he’s gonna be pitched around all season long. Nothing wrong with leading the league in walks but with a threat behind him, opposing teams aren’t worried about putting him on.