The Boston Red Sox are having one of the worst World Series hangovers we’ve seen in recent memory, but the thought they should trade the established stars on their team if things don’t get better is insane.
The Boston Red Sox ended a two-game series with their hated rivals the New York Yankees by blowing a late lead with a Brett Gardner grand slam. It was a low point of the season, but one that’s come just three weeks in. Still, it seems some in the locker room aren’t taking it well and have floated some pretty crazy ideas.
$30 million pitcher David Price was speaking in front of reporters yesterday, and said the Red Sox might make some major trades if things don’t turn around. This all according to the Boston Globe‘s Alex Speier.
Now, this isn’t major pieces like Rick Porcello or Jackie Bradley Jr. Price actually floated the idea of trading away Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez.
This is obviously coming from a guy who doesn’t have the knowledge of what Dave Dombrowski has cooking, but even the thought that the Red Sox could trade their two best players because of a rough April is out of this world. There’s nothing the Red Sox would trade Betts for at this point. He’s a top-five player in this league, and he’s just 26 years old. He’s eligible for arbitration at the end of the season, and it’s highly unlikely the Red Sox would allow him to go anywhere.
Betts is having a rough start to the season, hitting just .200 with three home runs and 15 strike outs. Someone who’s not having a rough start is Martinez. Why would they trade one of the only players contributing this season? He has a .325 batting average with a 1.146 OPS. Martinez will be key to keeping the Red Sox contending for years to come.
The biggest issue is that Porcello, Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi are all having very rough starts to the season. That’s 60 percent of the Red Sox rotation, including their ace, who aren’t doing enough to win games. Why would the Red Sox trade their best young players because their pitching can’t get it together?
If the Red Sox are in last place by 30 games come July, they still shouldn’t sell Betts and Martinez. I’m sure the Red Sox would want to shed some salary if they aren’t in the race in the middle of the season, but they want to make moves that make them World Series contenders again next season.
And again, that’s if they can’t turn it around. It’s way too early to declare the Red Sox dead, and Alex Cora has to get this Eeyore attitude out of his locker room. Either way, Betts and Martinez should stay put.