MLB Trade Rumors

Yesterday’s loss dropped the Red Sox to nine games under .500 — last place in the American League East. There’s a host of reasons for the team’s struggles to date, but a punchless offense is near the top of the list. Despite being in the division cellar and fourth from the bottom overall in the American League, Boston doesn’t appear to be entertaining the idea of a summer sell-off yet. To the contrary, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the Sox have been searching the trade market for a right-handed bat and have even signaled a willingness to take on some salary.

As noted, the Red Sox’ offense has been one of the worst in the sport. They’re last in the American League with 243 runs scored and sit 28th in all of MLB in that regard. Boston’s team-wide .248 batting average actually ranks sixth in baseball, but Sox hitters rank 14th in on-base percentage (.319) and 24th in slugging percentage (.380). Their 46 home runs are the second-fewest in the game, and their 8% walk rate is fifth from the bottom.

That the Sox are apparently focusing their search on a right-handed bat is both notable and, at first glance anyhow, a bit counterintuitive. They’ve been far better against left-handed pitching (.271/.339/.401) than against righties (.240/.312/.373). However, their production against left-handed pitching has been rather top-heavy. Willson Contreras has been one of the best hitters in baseball when it comes to southpaw mashing. Ceddanne Rafaela has been terrific as well. The Sox’ best hitter against lefties, improbably, has been lefty-swinging Wilyer Abreu.

Most of the remaining hitters beyond that trio have struggled. Right-handed bats like Caleb Durbin, Trevor Story and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have all been well below average against lefties. Andruw Monasterio has been about average. Carlos Narvaez has hit them well in a small sample of 23 plate appearances; fellow catcher Connor Wong has provided no value in the same sample (.150/.227/.150). Even among their most productive bats versus lefties, both Abreu (.475) and Rafaela (.469) have achieved their success thanks largely to sky-high BABIPs they won’t sustain. Rafaela has fanned in 35% of his plate appearances against lefties. Contreras is the only player on the roster who has provided clearly above-average production that looks sustainable.

There aren’t typically many players available this time of the year, and that’s even truer in 2026 than most years, given how tightly packed the American League standings are. The game’s likeliest seller, the Rockies, doesn’t have much in the way of productive righty bats that figure to be available. Catcher Hunter Goodman is their only righty with above-average production right now, but his 34% strikeout rate (46.5% versus lefties) is a red flag. Plus, he’s controllable for three years beyond the current season.

There are still some names who could potentially be available in the early stages of the summer. The Angels are in the AL cellar again but have enjoyed unexpectedly strong production from former Yankees top prospect Oswald Peraza. Outfielder Jo Adell isn’t hitting righties at all but is torching left-handed opponents. The Angels, however, rarely make conventional sell-side trades despite the fact that it’s been more than a decade since they were genuine contenders.

The Giants, Royals and Tigers are tied for the game’s third-worst record. Detroit, in particular, entered the season expecting to contend. They’re not likely to be ready to wave any white flags, particularly with Tarik Skubal inching closer to a return and with wins in each of their past three games.

The Giants probably aren’t ready to punt on the season just yet and don’t have great options available to market anyhow. Casey Schmitt is in the midst of a breakout but is controllable through 2029. Heliot Ramos is also controlled through ’29 and is having something of a down season. It’d be amusing to see the Red Sox and Giants line up on a second trade involving a notable veteran signed to a weighty long-term deal just one year after the Rafael Devers trade, but neither Matt Chapman nor Willy Adames seems likely to be a fit — even if the Sox are open to taking on some cash. Neither veteran is producing anywhere close to his typical levels, and both have full no-trade clauses. Chapman is owed $100MM over four years beyond the current season, while Adames is owed $140MM from 2027-31.

The Royals’ offense has similarly been one of the worst in baseball. They’re not moving Bobby Witt Jr., of course, and the only other right-handed bat that’s provided any real offense this year is outfielder Lane Thomas. He’s a free-agent signing on a one-year deal and thus can’t be traded without his consent for another 10 days (after June 15). He’s hit poorly against righties but thrived against lefties, which is par for the course for the 30-year-old veteran.

Given the lack of obvious sellers, the Red Sox might be better served trying to line up on a prototypical “baseball trade” between two contenders dealing from positions of strength. Both the Pirates and Padres are known to be looking for bullpen help already, for instance. Boston ranks second in the majors with a 3.03 ERA from its relief corps. There’s obvious risk in trading from that group, but there will be more bullpen arms available later this summer than there will right-handed bats, so the Sox could always look to replenish the ‘pen later on if they feel it’s necessary.

Boston’s payroll at the moment is just under $200MM, but they’re carrying enough luxury-tax obligations to put them right on the cusp of the second penalty tier. A trade that adds any salary of note would push them firmly into the second tier, though the penalty at that point is only a slight hike in tax rate. They’d have about $20MM of AAV they could add to the books before incurring an additional rate hike and seeing their top pick in next year’s draft dropped by 10 spots. That’s the penalty at which more teams tend to balk. Of course, if the Sox were to deal from their bullpen, it’s possible they’d be shipping out some major league salary, which would alter the math.

June trades of any significance are rare in modern baseball, but we’ve seen a handful in recent years. It’s not likely that the Sox pull off a second June swap of note for a second straight year, but the fact that they’re even angling to do so is a notable indication of how they view themselves and their playoff hopes at the moment.