We're all waiting to find out whether the big move is coming for the Boston Red Sox this winter.
Sep 19, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilyer Abreu (52) catches a fly ball against the Tampa Bay Rays in the third inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
The move in question is simple: Can the Red Sox land a superstar? Not a player with superstar potential, and not a player who was a superstar at an earlier point in their career. Boston has enough assets to cash in right now for a player who can help steer the ship all the way to the World Series.
The most obvious position of need is starting pitching, considering the Red Sox's rotation lacked a true ace for most of the season, especially the second half. And there are numerous trade candidates on the roster, perhaps none more obvious than rookie star right fielder Wilyer Abreu.
If Abreu is going to be traded, the Red Sox are under a lot of pressure to get the deal right. One proposed blockbuster from Wednesday lands perhaps the best possible pitcher who could ostensibly be traded.
Katie Manganelli proposed that the Red Sox could ship Abreu and an unspecified haul of prospects to the Seattle Mariners for All-Star Logan Gilbert, the most dependable member of Seattle's dominant rotation this season.
"The Mariners boast an elite rotation and their bats just don't match up. Seattle's league-worst 1,625 strikeouts canceled out its league-lowest starter ERA of 3.38. Abreu and a few other Sox players could help remedy that in exchange for one of their starters, like Logan Gilbert," Manganelli said.
Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said before the end of the season that the organization has no plans to deal from its rotation, but maybe they could be enticed into a deal that includes a Gold Glove nominee."
Gilbert, 27, is a home run acquisition if the Red Sox can somehow swing it. He led all of Major League Baseball in innings pitched (208 2/3) and WHIP (0.889), while pitching to a sturdy 3.23 ERA that would have been a lot lower had the Red Sox themselves not roughed him up for seven runs in late July.
The worry here would be that Abreu, as good as he was in 2024, isn't enough of a sure thing for the Mariners to part with Gilbert at this point. Such a trade might have to include Triston Casas or even Jarren Duran for Seattle to consider moving their 2024 ace.
Packaging Abreu with one of the Red Sox's "big four" prospects (Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kyle Teel, Kristian Campbell) could get the job done, but that's another type of gamble. Perhaps it's the gamble Boston needs to make, though, as it looks to finally get back to October in 2025.
