Everyone senses a big move coming from the Boston Red Sox this winter, but no one knows which direction they will go with it.
Aug 20, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Boston Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran (16) celebrates with first baseman Triston Casas (36) after hitting a home run during the eighth inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
There's the $600 million Juan Soto sweepstakes, which the Red Sox seem to be at least slightly in on. There are also top-tier free-agent starting pitchers like Corbin Burnes and Max Fried to bid for. But perhaps the trade market will be where the Red Sox do their damage.
It's an acknowledged truth at this point that the Red Sox lineup is too left-handed, meaning one of the young stars could get traded in order to bring back the ace pitcher Boston desperately needs. But one recent prediction sees Boston doing something that most fans would still see as fairly shocking.
Bob Osgood of SB Nation predicted that the Red Sox would trade either All-Star outfielder Jarren Duran or slugging first baseman Triston Casas to secure a top-tier starting pitcher, whether it's the Chicago White Sox's Garrett Crochet or one of the young stars on the Seattle Mariners.
"I know that there are rumors that the Red Sox could trade for Garrett Crochet without needing to include either Duran, Casas, or any of the big four prospects. I find that hard to believe," Osgood said.
"Front-line pitching is just too expensive, and a package headlined by Wilyer Abreu doesn’t feel like enough to me, even though Crochet only has two years remaining prior to free agency. You have to do something uncomfortable to trade for a true, capital-A Ace, something like trading your top two prospects (Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech) for Chris Sale."
Duran, 28, is coming off a season where he led all of baseball in doubles and triples, racked up an astonishing 8.7 WAR, and was recently named to the All-MLB team. It seems ludicrous to think a player that good could be shipped out of town with four years remaining on his contract, but the logic, supposedly, would be to move him while his value is high.
Casas, 24, has a lower value at the moment because he missed nearly four months this season with a rib fracture. But at his peak, he was one of the top hitters in baseball during the second half of 2023 and Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said recently that the team still views him as a 40-homer bat in the future.
Moving either Duran or Casas feels more like a panic move than a necessary expenditure. The Red Sox have built a young core, and those two are huge pieces of it.
Obviously, an ace pitcher is high on the list of priorities, but if it's going to cost one of Duran or Casas to trade for one, why not just pay the price in free agency?
