The Boston Red Sox are open for business, and these 3 players are first in line to be traded.
With their third straight loss to the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday night, the Boston Red Sox fell to 6-12 on the season. Pitching has been the primary problem for the team with the worst record in the American League, but it’s not as if the offense has been robust either with four runs or less in eight games.
According to Chris Cotillo of Mass Live, Red Sox president Sam Kennedy appeared on WEEI Thursday morning. The Aug. 31 trade deadline naturally came up, and Kennedy’s comments were equally extensive and interesting.
“We still have a group of young core players you’d like to see with the Red Sox for a long, long time, but we’d never label anybody untouchable just given the fact that sometimes, to retool and restructure for the future, you do have to make difficult decisions as you saw with the Mookie (Betts) decision,” he said. “I don’t think anybody would be untouchable”
The Red Sox traded star outfielder Mookie Betts and pitcher David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason, in part due to financial concerns as Betts approached free agency. At this point now, players on expiring contracts will surely take priority in trade talks. But years of team control left on a player is also a trade asset.
Even if no one is truly untouchable, the Red Sox should have these three players atop their list of players to trade over the next 18 days or so.
3 players the Red Sox should trade first
3. OF Jackie Bradley
Bradley has made some highlight-reel plays defensively in center field so far this season. But entering Thursday’s series finale against Tampa Bay he has been pretty awful at the plate (.226/.293/.264, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 16 strikeouts and five walks in 58 plate appearances). It’s obviously not a great sample to start a unique season, but the power that sort of reappeared last year (21 home runs) appears to have evaporated. He also had 28 doubles in 2019, his third season in the last four where he as had a least that many two-baggers.
Bradley has been off-and-on in trade rumors for a couple years. He is in the final year of his contract before hitting free agency, and at a prorated portion of $11 million maybe a contending team will see a fourth outfielder-type worth taking a chance on. Bradley is surely being dangled on the trade market, and the Red Sox should probably take whatever they can get. Maybe he gets on a better track offensively soon, then there’d be a relative sell-high opportunity.