Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Red Sox Rumors

Red Sox, Garrett Crochet Have Had Preliminary Extension Talks

By | at

The Red Sox made one of the biggest trade acquisitions of the winter, landing Garrett Crochet from the White Sox for four prospects. Boston apparently has interest in keeping their newly-acquired southpaw for the longer term.

Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that the Red Sox and Crochet’s camp at CAA have had at least preliminary discussions about a long-term deal. Tomorrow is the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to exchange filing figures on salaries for the 2025 season. That doesn’t preclude the sides from continuing to negotiate, but it stands to reason they’ll attempt to hammer out a deal to avoid an arbitration hearing for this year.

Crochet is coming off his first full season as a starting pitcher. His early-career injuries and usage out of the White Sox’s bullpen limited his arbitration earnings. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects the southpaw for a $2.9MM salary. He’s controllable for one additional year and is on track to reach free agency after his age-27 season.

For the next two seasons, Crochet should offer immense surplus value. He turned in top-of-the-rotation numbers on a rate basis last year. Crochet worked to a 3.58 earned run average with a massive 35.1% strikeout percentage. Chicago limited his workload within starts down the stretch. He finished the season with 146 innings despite taking all 32 turns through the rotation. Boston presumably won’t have any qualms about fully unleashing Crochet in his second season as a starter.

Crochet’s contract status was a key issue heading into last summer’s deadline. The southpaw seemed an obvious candidate to move as the ace of a team that was headed to the worst season in modern history. Chicago held onto him instead, in large part because his camp indicated he wanted an extension to pitch into October. To be clear, there’s no indication that Crochet would take that stance again now that he has a full season under his belt. At the time, ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote that the asking price would’ve been above nine figures. Passan noted that Crochet’s camp could compare him to Tyler Glasnow, who signed for four years and $110MM in new money on his extension with the Dodgers.

It’s not a perfect comparison. Glasnow was one year from free agency and had banked significantly greater earnings. Crochet is an extra season away. However, Crochet’s second half probably pushes his asking price higher than where it had been at the deadline. He finished the year healthy and is a few months closer to free agency. Even last year’s capped innings tally is above Glasnow’s career high of 134 frames in an MLB season.

Jacob deGrom holds the record for the largest extension for a pitcher with between four and five years of service time. deGrom secured $120.5MM from the Mets covering his age 32-35 seasons. That was an anomaly, as deGrom was a late bloomer but was coming off a Cy Young season. Crochet would certainly look to top more recent precedents like Pablo López’s $73.5MM deal with the Twins and the $71.5575MM in new money which Mitch Keller got from Pittsburgh last spring. A four- or five-year term would seem the most likely midpoint if the sides can reach an agreement. That’d allow the Sox to buy out two or three free agent seasons while Crochet would still have an opportunity to cash in as a free agent at 30 or 31.

MLBTR Podcast: Brent Rooker’s Extension, Gavin Lux, And Catching Up On The Holiday Transactions

By | at

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 Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

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

Red Sox Showing Interest In A.J. Minter

By | at

The Red Sox have had multiple conversations with free agent reliever A.J. Minter this offseason, writes Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Cotillo lists a few other relievers with whom the Sox have had discussions: Carlos Estévez, Tommy Kahnle and Andrew Kittredge. However, he suggests that Boston could be on the periphery of the Estévez market and that “nothing has heated up” in their conversations with Kahnle.

Minter has been linked to the Blue Jays, Rangers and Cubs in recent weeks. Texas has already made a handful of bullpen signings, including last night’s one-year deal with former Boston righty Chris Martin. The Jays and Cubs should still be involved in the relief market. During the season, Minter had expressed some interest in returning to the Braves, though it’s not clear how seriously Atlanta has pushed for a reunion.

The 31-year-old has been one of the game’s more reliable lefty setup arms during his career. Between 2020-23, he combined for a 2.89 earned run average while striking out more than 30% of opposing hitters in more than 200 innings. Minter’s platform year was a little more questionable. He still managed good numbers, turning in a 2.62 ERA with a solid 26.1% strikeout rate. Left hip issues limited him to 39 appearances, though. He underwent surgery that ended his season in the middle of August.

Minter could be ready early in the year, so the injury should not be too detrimental to his market. That said, it may limit him to two years when he seemed on track for a three-year pact earlier in 2024. At the beginning of the offseason, MLBTR predicted a two-year, $16MM deal.

The relief market has moved slowly. Boston’s $10.75MM deal with Aroldis Chapman is one of four eight-figure reliever contracts thus far. The Sox also brought in Justin Wilson on a one-year deal at a low cost ($2.25MM). Minter would complete a trifecta of new southpaws in Alex Cora’s late-inning mix.

Kahnle is a righty who generally fares better against left-handed hitters. That’s a reflection of how often he uses his changeup. Kahnle turned to the “offspeed” pitch more than 70% of the time last season. It’s tough to argue with the results, as he turned in a 2.11 ERA while striking out more than a quarter of opponents across 42 2/3 innings for the Yankees. Kittredge, a righty who leans on his slider roughly half the time, is coming off a strong season for the Cardinals. The 34-year-old worked 70 2/3 innings of 2.80 ERA ball with a league average 23.3% strikeout rate.

Blue Jays, Red Sox Interested In Pete Alonso

By | at

First baseman Pete Alonso is still unsigned with just over a month until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, which naturally suggests he hasn’t yet found a contract offer to his liking. Reports from Jeff Passan of ESPN and Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggest that he is likely to pivot to a short-term deal with one or more opt-outs. Nightengale says eight teams, including the Blue Jays and Red Sox, have at least some level of interest. However, it’s unclear how interested those clubs are and the fact that Alonso remains available suggests they aren’t bowling him over with aggressive offers.

If Alonso ultimately pivots to a short-term deal with opt-outs, it wouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Alonso’s agent Scott Boras went down this road last offseason with Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery. All four of them found markets below their expectations and remained unsigned beyond the holidays. Each of them eventually agreed to short-term deals with an opt-out or two, with slight variations for each individual.

There were reasons to expect Alonso could follow that path. Alonso reportedly turned down an extension offer from the Mets in the summer of 2023 valued at $157MM over seven years. He still had one arbitration season remaining at that time and ultimately earned $20.5MM. That means he was effectively being offered $137MM for six free agent seasons and turned it down. In November of 2023, it was reported that he was looking to top the recent deals for Freddie Freeman and Matt Olson, who signed for $162MM and $168MM respectively.

But the league has generally shied away from one-dimensional right-handed-hitting sluggers like Alonso. His defense isn’t especially well regarded and he’s not a burner on the basepaths. His walk rates are decent but not exceptional. Alonso has huge home run power but Freeman and Olson rank higher than him in terms of glovework and drawing free passes.

While Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols each got over $200MM, those deals were both over a decade ago. More recently, Paul Goldschmidt’s $130MM extension from the Cardinals is the best deal for a righty-swinging first baseman. Kris Bryant got $182MM as a defensively-limited outfielder but that deal turned sour very quickly. Other bat-first guys like J.D. Martinez and Nick Castellanos signed for the low nine figures.

Alonso also hit free agency on a bit of a down note. He had hit .261/.349/.535 for a 137 wRC+ through the 2022 season but slashed .229/.324/.480 over the past two seasons for a 122 wRC+. That’s still above average offense but a team might wonder if Alonso could reverse that trend going into his age-30 season. He also rejected a qualifying offer and is therefore tied to the associated penalties for any club that signs him.

Taking all that into consideration, it seemed possible that there would be a discrepancy between Alonso’s asking price and what teams would be willing to offer. At the start of the offseason, MLBTR considered predicting Alonso for a deal similar to what Bellinger ultimately signed with the Cubs last offseason, which was $80MM over three years with two opt-outs. That seemed too bold a stance to take at the start of the offseason, so we backed down and went with $125MM over five years, though noting that the Bellinger path was a real possibility. Last month, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that such a deal was becoming increasingly likely and this week’s reporting adds to that.

Returning to the Mets is still a possibility, as they haven’t done anything to fill Alonso’s spot at first base. It’s been speculated that they could move Mark Vientos over from third, since his defense at the hot corner isn’t strong and he’s capable of playing first. They could then cover third base internally with a combination of Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio or Luisangel Acuña, or perhaps an external addition like Alex Bregman. However, the door to Alonso returning is still open.

Other clubs have been tied to Alonso, but the fits are mostly a bit awkward. The Yankees reportedly had Alonso on their list of backup plans for the event they didn’t sign Juan Soto but they eventually signed Goldschmidt to cover first base. The Giants could perhaps be a fit but they have Bryce Eldridge waiting in the wings. The Angels have reportedly considered bringing in Alonso and moving incumbent first baseman Nolan Schanuel to the outfield, a position he hasn’t played as a professional.

The Jays and Red Sox are also fairly inelegant fits. Boston already has a corner infield logjam with Rafael Devers at third, Triston Casas at first and Masataka Yoshida a candidate for regular run as the designated hitter. Since Devers is a weak defender at third, they have considered adding someone like Bregman or Nolan Arenado and moving Devers to first, which has led to Casas and Yoshida being in trade rumors. Signing Alonso would jam this situation even further and make it harder to get Devers off third. Perhaps that wouldn’t be such a big deal on a short-term deal that the club expects him to opt out of, but it can’t be assured that a player will eventually use his opt-out. The Cubs recently signed Bellinger with this logic and saw him decide to stick around, which led to a salary-dump trade to the Yankees.

The Jays have Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as their everyday first baseman. He is capable of playing third base but only has 14 appearances there over the past five years, most of those coming as the Jays were playing out the string in 2024. With Guerrero slated for free agency next winter, perhaps he and Alonso could share first base and DH for a year with Alonso taking over first in 2026, though it would be a clunky fit for the 2025 season. The Jays also hope to extend Guerrero, which would be complicated by bringing Alonso into the fold.

Financially, RosterResource has the Jays just over $10MM away from last year’s payroll and the competitive balance tax, but it seems they still have some money to spend. They were reportedly involved with Corbin Burnes before he signed with the Diamondbacks and have an offer out to Anthony Santander. RosterResource has the Red Sox almost $30MM shy of the CBT and they might even be willing to cross the line this year.

Triston Casas And Boston’s Infield Dilemma

By | at

The rumor mill has been a whirlwind for Red Sox fans this offseason, with the club diving headfirst into the Juan Soto sweepstakes only to come up short, then getting involved in the markets for Max Fried and Corbin Burnes before ultimately pivoting to Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler. Now, Boston appears to be in the thick of the market for impact hitters. The club has not made its desire to land a bat who can help balance their heavily left-handed lineup out a secret this winter, and they’ve been connected to a number of major bats like Anthony Santander, Alex Bregman, and Nolan Arenado.

There’s been plenty of focus on the possibility of the club adding a right-handed infielder like Bregman or Arenado in particular. Either of those deals could come with complications, however. Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer are both top prospects for the Red Sox who figure to debut in 2025 and fit best on the infield. As the club is currently constructed, with Triston Casas and Rafael Devers at the corners and Trevor Story at shortstop, second base appears to be the cleanest way for either of those players to get into the lineup- or for the club to add a free agent infielder. Bregman has indicated a willingness to play the keystone, but it would be a risky decision for the Red Sox to play a solid defensive third baseman out of position in deference to the incumbent Devers and his lackluster defense. And the idea of adding a glove-first third baseman like Arenado and moving him off the hot corner seems even more farfetched.

That’s led to plenty of speculation swirling around the future of Casas this winter, as the young first baseman would be by far the easiest piece of the club’s infield mix to move. Casas, who turns 25 next week, has done nothing but hit in the majors to this point with a .250/.337/.473 slash line in 222 big league games so far. That’s been good for a 125 wRC+, and with four years of team control remaining the slugger could be a building block for a number of teams around the game—including the Red Sox. While a player with Casas’s combination of talent and team control should garner plenty of attention if made available on the market, it’s worth noting that the youngster’s 2024 season may have raised some red flags that could make potential suitors concerned about his value.

For one thing, he missed most of the season due to torn cartilage in his ribcage. In the 63 games where Casas was healthy enough to take the field, he hit just .241/.337/.462 (119 wRC+) and posted the lowest walk rate (12.3%) of his young career. Both of those are still well above-average figures and not necessarily cause for concern by themselves, but Casas’s sharp uptick in strikeouts is more alarming. He struck out at a 31.7% clip in his 243 plate appearances last year. If he had stayed healthy enough to qualify, that would’ve been the second-highest strikeout rate in the majors last year behind only Zack Gelof. Third on that list is Reds phenom Elly De La Cruz, proving it’s at least theoretically possible to be an impactful major leaguer even if you punch out nearly a third of the time, but that’s a much steeper ask for a player as defensively limited as Casas.

Of course, those potential red flags haven’t stopped Casas from getting plenty of attention in the rumor mill. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has insisted that the club isn’t shopping the young slugger, but several reports have indicated that the club is at least listening to offers on him even if they aren’t placing him on the trading block outright. In particular, there was plenty of smoke surrounding the possibility of a trade between the Red Sox and Mariners regarding Casas last month. Those talks reportedly saw Seattle rebuff the idea of either trading one of their young starting pitchers for Casas or else trading Luis Castillo for a package involving both Casas and pricey DH Masataka Yoshida, while the Red Sox balked at the idea of trading Casas for Castillo without also offloading Yoshida’s salary.

With Crochet and Buehler now in the fold, the Red Sox have an abundance of starting pitching options that could make a deal for a player like Castillo less palatable. That being said, reports have indicated that the club could still be open to dealing Casas in order to facilitate other roster moves. One such roster move a trade of Casas could facilitate would be the addition of Bregman or Arenado at third base, while Casas departs the roster in order to allow a potential move to first base for Devers. Alternatively, parting ways with Casas could open the door for the club to instead add a right-handed slugger like Pete Alonso to the lineup at first base if the club opts to keep Devers at the hot corner.

It’s an interesting conundrum the Red Sox face: they’ve missed the playoffs in each of the past three seasons and finally appear poised to seriously contend for the AL East again in 2025. There’s at least theoretically room for an impact player on the infield as things stand, but a complicated positional fit and the presence of impact prospects at Triple-A nearing their big league debut would complicate any such acquisitions.

Should the club stand pat on the infield, preserving the potential star power of Casas and leaving the door open for Mayer and/or Campbell to step in at second base this year? Should the club deal Casas in order to guarantee that there’s room for both a top prospect and an impact addition on the infield, despite the questions regarding Casas’s current value? Or should the Red Sox push their chips in and sign an impact player while keeping Casas in the fold, regardless of the awkward positional fit and the risk of blocking impact prospects? Have your say in the poll below:

Red Sox Notes: Arenado, Casas, Bregman, Sasaki

By | at

Reports last month from MLB.com’s John Denton indicated that the Red Sox, Mets, Phillies, Padres, Dodgers, and Angels were six of the teams (and perhaps the only six teams) Nolan Arenado was willing to waive his no-trade protection to join, should the Cardinals work out an acceptable swap with any of these clubs.  Four weeks after that initial report, Boston remains “a preferred destination” for Arenado, according to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam.  What isn’t known, however, is if the Red Sox and Cardinals are anywhere close on a deal, or if the Sox are particularly motivated to bring Arenado to Beantown.

Acquiring Arenado would check a couple of big needs off of Boston’s offseason shopping list.  Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow reiterated earlier this week that the Sox were looking to add “a right-handed bat out of the middle of the lineup,” considering that the team is heavy with left-handed hitters.  Bringing one of the best defensive third basemen of all time to Fenway Park would instantly help Boston’s subpar infield defense, and Arenado would even be reunited with his good friend and former Rockies teammate Trevor Story.

One initial roadblock, of course, is the fact that the Red Sox already have a star third baseman in Rafael Devers.  Though Arenado has indicated that he is open to a position change in the right circumstance and Devers’ agent said in no uncertain terms in November that his client was staying at third base, it is hard to believe that Arenado would move off the hot corner in deference to a much weaker fielder in Devers.  If a trade did happen, Devers would presumably become the new first baseman or DH, though this creates other conflicts with Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida.

Both of those players, however, have been mentioned in trade talks this winter, and even in some of the same trade talks.  Casas is the far more valuable trade asset of the two, and while Breslow said “we’re certainly not shopping him,” that naturally doesn’t mean Casas is off limits.  Indeed, Cotillo and McAdam write that “there remains a belief in the industry that the Red Sox remain open to trading Casas, potentially for young pitching, to facilitate other roster maneuvering.”

It could be that the Sox are looking to first trade Casas before making any other moves, as their leverage in a Casas deal would be lessened if the Red Sox created a positional logjam beforehand.  Trading Casas purely as a vehicle to clear payroll space surely isn’t Breslow’s preference, which is why that aforementioned attempt to link Yoshida and Casas together was still part of an attempt to bring Luis Castillo from Seattle to Boston.

Payroll is also a major aspect of any Arenado trade, as the third baseman is owed $74MM over the remaining three seasons of his contract.  Between deferrals and the $10MM being covered by the Rockies, the present-day value of Arenado’s contract reportedly works out to $60MM.  The Cardinals’ chief incentive in trading Arenado is naturally to move as much of this money as possible, and the proposed deal with the Astros that Arenado blocked would’ve seen Houston take on either $45MM (as per Katie Woo and Chandler Rome of the Athletic) or $59MM (as per ESPN’s Jeff Passan) of the $60MM figure.

Theoretically, the Red Sox could absorb the entire contract and still stay under the $241MM luxury tax threshold, as RosterResource estimates Boston’s current tax number at just under $212MM.  It remains unclear exactly how much payroll capacity Breslow has been allotted this winter, as while the Sox have made overtures to several top free agents, their spending has been pretty modest to date.  The Red Sox could perhaps convince the Cardinals to take on a bigger chunk of Arenado’s salary (or at least closer to the $45MM figure) if better prospects are offered in return.  Chaim Bloom’s involvement in this speculative trade is an interesting wrinkle, as the incoming St. Louis president of baseball operations has plenty of knowledge of Boston’s farm system due to his past stint as the Red Sox CBO.

Trading for Arenado would come at a lesser overall cost than signing Alex Bregman, another top third baseman who remains on Boston’s radar.  That said, the Red Sox are known to still be in the running for Bregman, who has some notable ties to the Sox in manager Alex Cora (from their days together in Houston) and his longtime friend Walker Buehler, who just signed with the Sox himself before Christmas.  Buehler recently told Cotillo and other reporters that even in his brief time in a Sox uniform, “I have certainly made a pitch all over the place for [Bregman] to come to Boston.”

Turning to other Red Sox targets, it remains unknown if Boston is still one of the teams getting consideration from Roki Sasaki.  Earlier this week, Sasaki’s agent Joel Wolfe updated reporters on his client’s search for a Major League team, and didn’t give any indication that the right-hander was finished with his in-person meetings with interested clubs.

The Red Sox weren’t one of the seven teams known to have spoken with Sasaki already, and word hasn’t broken if a meeting has been scheduled or perhaps it is has already taken place since Wolfe’s last presser.  As of yesterday, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reported that the Sox hadn’t “been told they are out of” the running for Sasaki’s services, so the situation is still up in the air.

Red Sox Considering Six-Man Rotation

By | at

With Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler added to the rotation and last year’s free agent signing Lucas Giolito expected to be ready for Opening Day after missing the 2024 season, the Red Sox are considering deploying a six-man rotation in 2025 according to a report from Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic.

That such a plan would be under consideration by the club’s front office makes sense, given the way their starting corps is constructed. On paper, it’s an exceptionally deep group with homegrown youngsters Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, and Kutter Crawford joining the aforementioned trio while depth pieces like Richard Fitts, Quinn Priester, and Cooper Criswell all remain in the wings as plug-and-play depth options. Beyond that group, the Red Sox have weighed veteran Michael Fulmer as a starting option and have additional potential options like Garrett Whitlock and Patrick Sandoval expected to return from the injured list at some point during the 2025 season.

While a list of credible, MLB-caliber starters twelve names deep is something the majority of clubs around the league figure to be envious of, that depth could easily prove necessary for the Red Sox given the concerning injury histories at play in their rotation mix. Giolito, Fulmer, Whitlock, and Sandoval will all be pitching off a big league mound for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery and will surely need to have their workloads managed carefully as they get back into the grind of work as a starter.

Additionally, Buehler will be just one year removed from the same situation and last pitched a wire-to-wire big league season in 2021 while Crochet made 32 starts in 2024 but nearly tripled his maximum single-season innings workload as a professional after struggling with injuries earlier in his career. Both hurlers may need to have their innings carefully managed in 2025, particularly given Boston’s postseason aspirations and the fact that the club surely wants to have both healthy and ready to go in the event that the club makes its first playoff run since 2021. Houck, Bello, and Crawford all also put together career-high innings totals in 2024, leaving reason to consider whether the club’s entire rotation mix may benefit from the additional rest that a six man rotation provides.

The biggest reason for a team to have pause regarding the possibility of a six-man rotation (at least, for clubs that do not employ Shohei Ohtani) is the 13-pitcher limit for MLB rosters, which cause any club using a six-man rotation to be forced to deploy a seven-man bullpen. The additional rest between starts could allow starters to pitch deeper into games and make playing a man down in the bullpen more feasible, at least in theory, but the occasional short start due to injury or ineffectiveness is inevitable over the course of a 162-game season and a bullpen with just seven pitchers that’s forced to cover six or seven innings during a shortened start could be hampered for the next several games by the surprise uptick in workload.

With that said, Boston’s extreme depth of potential starting options could set the club up to utilize a six-man rotation more effectively than the average club. With twelve pitchers at least potentially in the mix for starts this season, utilizing a handful of those arms as bullpen pieces capable of going multiple innings would be a way to allow the club’s relief corps to better handle its workload despite having just seven arms available at a time. All indications point to the Red Sox already planning to move Whitlock back into the bullpen once he’s ready to return to action, and players like Fulmer, Priester, Criswell, and even Josh Winckowski could all also seamlessly move into the club’s bullpen and throw multiple innings if needed.

Of course, the club’s ability to stack relievers capable of going multiple innings in the bullpen will surely depend on the moves they make to bolster their relief corps going forward this winter. Justin Slaten, Aroldis Chapman, and Liam Hendriks are all more or less guaranteed spots in the club’s Opening Day bullpen so long as health allows, and the same is likely true for lefty Justin Wilson. That would leave just three bullpen spots available if the club moves to a six-man rotation, and if the club decides to pursue another relief addition like Tanner Scott or Chris Martin then there would be just two spots available for traditional bullpen arms like Greg Weissert or Brennan Bernardino as well as any multi-inning options the club wants to utilize.

Red Sox To Keep Ceddanne Rafaela In Center Field “As Much As Possible”

By | at

The Red Sox made a big investment in Ceddanne Rafaela last season, extending the youngster on an eight-year, $50MM deal in April. At the time, he had just 38 MLB games under his belt. They weren’t the most successful 38 games, either. Rafaela had a .672 OPS and 76 wRC+ with an abysmal 6:37 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Despite his blistering speed, he only had four stolen bases to that point, and he had already been caught stealing twice. Yet, his elite defensive capabilities must have helped the Red Sox look past his struggles on the other side of the ball.

Rafaela was long praised for his outfield defense as a prospect, and he lived up to the hype in the majors. By the end of the 2024 season, he had racked up 12 Defensive Runs Saved and a +7 Fielding Run Value in just 748.0 career innings as a center fielder. On the one hand, we have to be careful when looking at defensive metrics in such a small sample size. On the other hand, if Rafaela could keep those numbers up over a full season of work, he’d be one of the best fielders in the sport.

As if his performance in center field weren’t impressive enough, Rafaela has also appeared in 87 games at shortstop, 14 games at second base, and 4 games at third in his brief MLB tenure. He had plenty of infield experience in the minors. In fact, he began his pro career as a full-time infielder in 2018 and didn’t play the outfield until 2021. However, he took to center field so naturally that it soon became his primary position. By the time he made his MLB debut, it seemed safe to say he was a full-time center fielder.

But not so fast. As Trevor Story spent significant time on the IL in 2023 and ’24, the Red Sox needed help in the infield. Rafaela started five games at shortstop during his brief big league cup of coffee in 2023. The following year, the Red Sox temporarily named him their primary shortstop when Story went down with a shoulder injury in early April. He ended up playing more shortstop than any position and more shortstop than anyone else on Boston’s roster.

Rafaela’s versatility proved to be invaluable to the Red Sox in 2024. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that he wasn’t more than a backup plan at short. His defense at the position was poor according to just about every available metric. Over 692.0 career innings at shortstop from 2023-24, Rafaela has made six fielding errors and four throwing errors. He has -3 Defensive Runs Saved and a -8 Fielding Run Value. Once again, it’s important to take defensive metrics in a small sample size with a grain of salt. Still, it’s impossible not to notice the world of difference between Rafaela’s performance in center field and at shortstop.

With that in mind, it was hardly controversial when Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow told reporters (including Sean McAdam of MassLive) that the Red Sox plan to keep Rafaela in center field “as much as possible.” With Rafaela in center full-time, the Red Sox could play 2024 Gold Glove finalist Jarren Duran in left field and 2024 Gold Glove winner Wilyer Abreu in right, giving them, perhaps, the best defensive outfield in the sport. Yet, McAdam raises the question of what Boston will do once star prospect Roman Anthony is ready for the majors. That shouldn’t take long, considering Anthony put up a .982 OPS and a 162 wRC+ in 35 games at Triple-A last season. Neither Anthony nor Duran is quite as talented as Rafaela in center field, but both can play the position. More to the point, Rafaela has shown far less promise at the plate. Duran has an .832 OPS and a 126 wRC+ over the past two seasons, while Anthony has spent the last two years tearing up the minor leagues. Similarly, Abreu has a .794 OPS and a 117 wRC+ over 160 MLB games. No matter how strong Rafaela’s defense might be, his .664 OPS and 79 wRC+ in 180 career games pale in comparison to those numbers.

Despite a potential logjam in the outfield, Breslow made it clear that the Red Sox don’t want Rafaela playing the infield (per McAdam). That’s not exactly a shocking revelation. After all, Rafael Devers has third base on lock, and Story should be the full-time shortstop as long as he’s healthy. Boston doesn’t have a guaranteed starter at second base, but David Hamilton was a stronger offensive player and a better infield defender than Rafaela in 2024. Vaughn Grissom has yet to show that he’s ready for regular playing time, but he’s still young, and presumably, the Red Sox would like to give him a chance to prove himself after an injury-plagued 2024 campaign.

Ultimately, however, this isn’t really about the other options in the infield. Simply put, the Red Sox want Rafaela to focus on the position where he’s most valuable. Indeed, Breslow thinks that moving between the infield and the outfield might have hampered his performance in both spots: “I’m not sure we saw the best of him even defensively because of the fact that he was switching back and forth between center and shortstop.”

It’s hard to argue with Breslow’s logic. At the same time, it’s worth wondering what the Red Sox plan to do with Rafaela once Anthony demands a promotion. Similarly, it’s worth wondering what this means about Boston’s purported pursuit of a right-handed bat. Could a slightly crowded outfield picture prevent Breslow from adding the righty bat his lineup so badly needs?

The simplest answer is that Rafaela can take on a fourth outfielder role if/when he finds himself squeezed out of the starting lineup. He could also be the short side of a platoon with Abreu, who struggles against southpaws. In addition, it’s not as if Breslow completely closed the door on Rafaela returning to the infield. Perhaps if Story suffers another injury, Rafaela will be back on the dirt after all. A role like that might not be what the Red Sox had in mind when they signed him to a $50MM contract, but it’s not as if his $1.25MM salary for the 2025 season is an overpay for a Gold Glove-caliber bench player. Maybe Boston will eventually try to trade an outfielder, but there’s no reason to think they’re in a rush to get Rafaela – or Duran, Abreu, or Anthony – off their hands. Besides, Anthony isn’t even on the 40-man yet, and there’s plenty that could happen to affect Rafaela’s potential role between now and Opening Day.

Image courtesy of Imagn.

Craig Breslow Discusses Casas, Bregman, Devers

By | at

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow met with the Boston beat on Monday to discuss the team’s offseason. MLBTR has already relayed Breslow’s notes on Lucas Giolito and Roki Sasaki, respectively. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe were among those to cover Breslow’s other comments.

Most notably, the CBO pushed back against trade rumors swirling around first baseman Triston Casas. “I’m not totally sure where it comes from. We’re not shopping Triston,” Breslow said. “We see him as a guy that can hit in the middle of the lineup for a really long time here in Boston. I’ve seen some of the speculation about what deals may or may not have existed, or what may or may not have been proposed, and there was nothing that was remotely close. We’re certainly not shopping him.”

Reporting has generally characterized the Sox as being open to a Casas trade without suggesting they’re actively trying to deal him. That has been most prevalent in the context of attempting to line up a deal with Seattle for a controllable starter. Ryan Divish and Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reported during the Winter Meetings that the Mariners had rebuffed interest from the Sox in swapping Casas for a young starter like Bryan Woo or Bryce Miller. Boston has seemingly not had interest in a Casas for Luis Castillo framework. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand wrote last week that the Sox would’ve wanted Seattle to take on the underwater Masataka Yoshida contract in that situation.

In any case, it looks increasingly likely that Casas will remain on the Red Sox going into next season. Boston has added Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler to a rotation that already included Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford. Giolito is shooting for an Opening Day return from internal brace surgery. That gives the Sox at least six viable starters, while Cooper Criswell and Richard Fitts are on hand as depth options. Garrett Whitlock is likely to kick back to the bullpen once he returns from his own elbow surgery.

While the rotation may no longer be a priority, Breslow highlighted two longstanding target areas: a right-handed bat and the bullpen. They’ve made progress in the latter area, bringing in Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson to strengthen the left side. Whitlock and Liam Hendriks could step in alongside second-year pitcher Justin Slaten in the late innings. Whitlock, Hendriks, and Wilson all come with some durability question marks. Chapman’s scattershot command makes him something of a wild card. Slaten, who is just one season removed from being a Rule 5 selection, might be the team’s safest reliever.

Relief pitching is tough to project, and the Sox have a more volatile bullpen than most contenders. There’s a decent amount of upside, but it’s not surprising that Breslow indicated they’ll look for another addition. The free agent relief market has barely moved. Only three relievers — Clay Holmes, Blake Treinen and Yimi García — have signed multi-year deals. Holmes is stretching out as a starter after signing a three-year contract with the Mets. Chapman and Nick Martinez (who accepted a qualifying offer from Cincinnati) are the only other relievers to sign for a guarantee above $10MM.

The slowly-developing relief market in part reflects a weaker than average free agent group. However, the top two relievers, Tanner Scott and Jeff Hoffman, remain unsigned going into the new year. Carlos Estévez, Kirby Yates, A.J. Minter and David Robertson are other relievers who have yet to sign. Ryan Helsley is the top name on the trade market, though the Cardinals seem to prefer to hold him until the deadline.

In contrast to the bullpen, Boston has yet to make a move for a right-handed hitter aside from a trade for backup catcher Carlos Narváez. The Sox lost Tyler O’Neill from a group that was already very left-handed. Breslow reiterated that the Sox wanted impact production from “a right-handed bat out of the middle of the lineup.” He left open the possibility of internal improvements but noted they’re “certainly also engaged in conversations for players that aren’t yet in the organization.”

The top remaining free agent, righty-hitting infielder Alex Bregman, has been linked to the Sox in recent weeks. Asked whether the Sox are still involved on Bregman, Breslow pointed back to the need for right-handed hitting generally. “As you probably can imagine, I’m not going to speak about specific pursuits. I can say that right-handed bats that we feel like could play well at our park are certainly of interest to us, and we remain engaged on a number of fronts.”

Breslow added that the Red Sox aren’t looking to move Rafael Devers off the hot corner. That doesn’t rule out Bregman, who’d be a massive upgrade over Boston’s internal options at second base (i.e. Vaughn Grissom, David Hamilton, Romy Gonzalez). Switch-hitting outfielders Anthony Santander and Jurickson Profar are speculative possibilities. Pete Alonso may be the best unsigned right-handed hitter, but he’d be a tough roster fit unless the Sox deal Casas or can offload most of the Yoshida contract.

Wolfe: “Market Size Isn’t A Factor” In Sasaki’s Decision

By | at

Wasserman’s Joel Wolfe, the agent for NPB star Roki Sasaki, tells SNY’s Andy Martino that “market size isn’t a factor either way” in the player’s decision. At the Winter Meetings, the agent opined that Sasaki may prefer going to a smaller market after clashing with media members in Japan. However, Wolfe stressed at the time that was his own opinion and that he and Sasaki had yet to discuss the matter in depth. It seems the pitcher isn’t giving that any weight.

Sasaki has conducted initial meetings with at least seven teams, most of whom are big-market franchises. Previous reports indicated he met with Dodgers, Rangers, Yankees, Mets and Cubs. The Giants are believed to have gotten a meeting as well. Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports today that the Padres were also granted a meeting during Sasaki’s trip to the U.S. earlier this month.

Wolfe met with various reporters (including Tim Healey of Newsday and Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) this evening to provide details on the process. He indicated that all in-person meetings occurred at Wasserman’s offices in Los Angeles. Wolfe declined to specify how many teams were involved. He said that 20 clubs sent initial presentations via PowerPoint, video or books to express interest.

It seems that each meeting followed specific protocols. According to Wolfe, Sasaki specifically requested that teams did not bring any players. He also limited each conversation to the same amount of time (less than two hours), ostensibly to keep every team on an equal footing. As planned, Sasaki then returned to Japan for the holidays.

It isn’t clear if any teams beyond the reported seven have met with Sasaki. Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said last week that Detroit made an initial pitch, though as of Friday, they hadn’t heard back on whether they’d get a meeting. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said this morning that Boston was in a similar position (relayed by Alex Speier of the Boston Globe).

Wolfe did not close the door on granting another team or two an initial sit-down, though the agent indicated that they’d soon start to narrow the field (via Chris Cotillo of MassLive). Sasaki has not visited any team’s cities — aside from his stay in L.A. because Wasserman is headquartered there — but could do so after the New Year.

The signing period for international amateur free agents opens on January 15. That’s the date at which Sasaki is first eligible to sign. His 45-day posting window runs through January 23, however. Wolfe indicated that Sasaki may not have made a decision by the opening of the signing window and could take things right up to the posting deadline. While the agent didn’t highlight this as a reason, that would give MLB teams just over a week to trade for international signing bonus allotments that’d increase what they’re able to offer Sasaki. Teams can acquire up to 60% of the initial value of their respective bonus pools. Teams have varying initial pool allotments, all of which land between $5.1462MM and $7.5555MM.

AJAX Loader
Load More Posts
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top