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:
They should trade casas and not add an impactful infielder.
Or trade casas for an impactful infielder.
Casas is one of their best hitters. Assuming they need to add an impact bat now, trading Casas means they would need to add two impact bats.
Sign Bregman or Alonso. Or trade for Arenado
Mid season Mayer, Campbell and Anthony should all be ready. I imagine one of those guys is an impact bat.
I’m imagining this tasty lineup:
1B Casas
2B Campbell
SS Story
3B Mayer
DH Devers
C Wong
CF Rafaela
LF Duran
RF Abreu/Refsnyder
Plus Anthony. Looks possibly mmm mmm delicious.
suit, agreed. Plus he’s still earning league minimum. Great value out of that position.
Dylan… keep Casas and trade Devers.
RafaelDeversIsYourFirstBaseman
Yoshiba+10mi/Casas and a One low prospect For Arenado and Ryan Helsley
You have to be a Cards fan to make that offer. If it was ever proposed by the Sox, the Cards would break fingers rushing to call it in.
If they are serious about Vlad then you should only trade casas this year for a Jared Jones type. Arenado or Alonso if he’s a one year deal and do whatever you can to dump yoshida
I dont think you can make any decisions based on a player possibly signing a free agent deal a year from now…that is a good way to end up with nothing
Pool – Well said!
Teams like the Dodgers and Mets could pull it off, but only because THEY are willing to spend what it takes to sign their target free agent.
Casas doesn’t get you Jones though
He can headline though
I agree, but we’d need to add a pretty good prospect.
Casas isn’t remotely a finished product offensively or defensively. It would seem shortsighted to swap his floor and his potential only to plug an aging Arrenado at 3B and then have an unhappy Devers at 1B. Arrenado is still a very very good player IMO but I’d rather them roll with the youth options at 2B than this option. Adding Bregman at 2B makes sense if he’s willing for a few years and return to 3B when Devers settles in to his Medium-Sized Papi role.
wbz, do you think Devers would be unhappy as a DH? I’m thinking they move Yoshida to the minors and trade him if he recovers well, release him and eat the salary if he doesn’t. Get Arenado with some salary relief for a prospect or two. Mid level of course..
But yeah, keep Casas – could be 30 hrs for the next 4 years and he seems athletic enough to become a solid first baseman.
Casas had a 112 OPS+. He’s not getting released. His issue is not whether not he can play: it’s that he’s expensive and a lefty.
Joe, Casas is making league min, bro.
When did league min get expensive?
Read better. “Him” = Yoshida
Dan. Joe is clearly referring to casas
.stop wasting time calling me out for nothing..”read better” ..lol just stop with that bs
Actually, I was referring to Yoshi as decent+, but lefty and too expensive.
Did you mean Yoshida and not Casas?
Yes, but my mistake made my comment unintelligible.
I think he wants to play 3B as long as he can and I think that is what the expectation was when he signed his deal knowing DH or 1B eventually was inevitable. We’re not talking Beltre here. I know errors aren’t the totality of defensive metrics but Raffy had 12, Bregman has 10 and Nolan had 9 last year. I really like Casas not just for his ability, but he’s kind of hilarious and quirky and if you heard his sideline reporting last year it’s hard to not want to keep this kid and his bat around long-term. I can’t imagine selling on him lower either as that rib muscle injury just derailed what could have been an awesome season after years of waiting for him. But yeah, Hamilton, Grissom, even Story could take 2B again when MM is ready.
Masa is a whole other issue. I hope he comes in ready to play and improve defensively.
wbz – Thank you for bringing logic and sensibleness!
Without question the issue of how long Devers would play 3B was discussed during his extension negotiation. It is beyond silly for anyone to think otherwise.
And based on Raffy’s agent, it sure sounds like the Red Sox agreed to keep him at 3B for at least another couple years. Is it possible they lied to Raffy and his agent? Of course it’s possible, but we don’t know that yet.
BTW – You are gonna like the upcoming Netflix documentary, apparently Casas did everything he could to get as much camera time as possible. Which also unfortunately rubbed his teammates the wrong way.
I agree with wnz. This strikes me as a front office trying to garner support for trading a popular player so they can continue to pretend that Dever can field.
Better and easier solution is to just take the hit on Yoshi by either trading Yoshi for any single A team’s peanut vendor or just release him. Then sign a glove 1st 3B and move fat panda Jr to DH.
Phillies fan here, but given what I see from the Red Sox, if they can extract real value for Casas right now (a team that will value him as a key building block) then I would make the deal. And I know that it is never this simple, but you tell Devers that he is moving to first / DH as it is clear that he will never be even a slightly below average 3B.
They need to rectify the awkwardness of the infield picture, and the pieces are there to improve things.
A 3.7 bWAR is a below average 3B? Interesting interesting.
“Defensive 3B” Joemo – should have been self-explanatory but I guess that you just want to be cranky.
If you’re going to criticize someone, you should be clear on what you’re criticizing them on.
This Devers slander is getting old.
He was plenty clear with his implications that he be moved to 1B/DH. Stop looking for an unnecessary argument.
Hmmm – one posits that you take a very good hitter with what is basically just about the worst defensive track record at 3B in baseball for some years and move him to 1B / DH (the classic hide the defense move). Clearly his bat is rather elite, and clearly his defense is rather subpar, and there is not a Red Sox fan in Boston that is not aware of this particular conundrum.
But you want to get on your high horse about this? Perhaps you are just kind of an arrogant putz that needs to posture and whine? Who knows…
So if the concern is Devers defense, you want him to learn a new defensive position, which has additional skills needed in addition to the ones he has issues with?
Interesting interesting interesting.
Carver – if you actually watched him through the seasons, you’d see his defense has improved, but he’s still making some mistakes. He has had some injuries to deal with.
He has made many plays in the past year or two that he would have missed in previous years.
So does it make sense to have someone struggling on defense to learn a new position that requires some of the skills he currently has and struggled with in addition to learning new skills? No. Continue working with him at 3B. He’s shown improvement there. You’re not going to get value back for Casas, and no one is taking Yoshida, so adding someone like Bregman or Arenado just blocks giving the prospects space and ties up a ton of money in marginal upgrades
Upon further review Joemo, while there is certainly a period of adjustment required and different skills to learn for a 3B in order to adjust to 1B, Devers might have the capability to become less of a liability over there in time.
Your approach to being a worthwhile poster however appears to be beyond repair. Go away little boy I don’t have time for trolls.
Carver – yeah man playing first is easy, tell em Wash.
He also has the ability to be less of a liability at 3B over time. If you watched him actually play, you’d see that.
you want him to learn a new defensive position,
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I’m concerned about his defense, but no way I’d try to convert him to a 1B. I’d give everyone (Devers, Story, Grissom, Casas) on more season, and leave the kids in the minors. See where that takes us.
Actually, the Red Sox would like to see him move to 1B / DH; this is hardly the first year that it has been bandied about. Terrific hitter signed until Medicare age, with lots of issues at 3B.
And no, the positional change is never easy, but there IS a reason that baseball has forever looked to use 1B as the place to stick the big bats with mobility issues. And if he can’t make the transition to first, then DH is where he will eventually end up. They have a lot of money tied up in the guy and his bat is the carrying tool.
If they thought that he was going to become even an average fielder at 3rd they would prefer him there. Will they move him this season? Probably not unless things change, but the organization is certainly looking at all sorts of scenarios that would make the move to first and / or DH almost a necessity.
Joemo you make some very valid points. The notion that you can plop Devers at 1B and immediately improve the overall IF defense in Boston is largely overblown. Unless you’re sure Devers will be at least adequate in stretching for throw while maintaining contact with the bag and converting throws in the dirt into catches for outs moving him to 1B could have the net result of making the entire IF defense worse. And if you trade Casas to take this chance the team has compounded the matter by not having a decent fall back option there defensively.
Overall the notion of Boston having an IF dilemma is overblown. As things stand their IF consists of 2 good lefty hitters in Devers and Casas at the corners, and 3 right handed hitters in Story at SS, either Grissom or Campbell at 2B and Wong catching. I’m convinced most of the recent buzz about them trying to move Casas is being generated by Scott Boras to push for an open large market team for him to land Bergman with after badly misplaying his free agency to this point. Breg should have taken the 6/$156 offer from Houston when they offered it. Boston shouldn’t consider bailing Boras out on this.
He has made many plays in the past year or two that he would have missed in previous years.
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That’s the shame of it. He’s got some defensive talent, but it feels like he is a little ADD.
We have Bohm at 3rd, who if you looked at him 2.5 years ago you would have said that he will never be able to play 3rd at an average defensive level. However, he worked his butt off and has become solid enough that it is up to his bat to keep him there. The D will never be superior but he holds his own and is not a team deficiency at 3B.
Devers has a longer track record of being well below average (according to many the worst fielding 3B in the league) and even if he improves somewhat the writing is on the wall, for he won’t get better as he ages. The bat is more than good enough for first or DH and the team improves when they can put a stronger fielder out there with a bat that can be solid for the position as well.
It doesn’t have to happen overnight however – you make the move when the pieces fit into place and the overall team is strengthened.
Carver just because creative writers analysts and other media types have discussed devers moving off 3b (rightly so) does not mean any real decision maker with Boston. Ie Cora, Breslow etc have spoken with Devers realistically about this plan..the man is by far the highest paid player on the team. Till anyone really knows this conversation has happened with the 3 parties i mention this is all just noise and uninformed speculation
The infield dilemma was/is defense. It’s pretty bad.
Well said…someone for sure needs to man up and be honest with devers
Pool – And what if the Red Sox had promised to keep him at 3B until at least Age 30?
I would be curious if there’s any type of clause in his contract.
@Fever – They don’t put those clauses in contracts, but they may very well have discussed something like that with him as a quasi-promise.
Fpg – very interesting possibility def wouldnt shock me if they made him unrealistic promises
They don’t have to do anything. This awkwardness derives from the left-handed lean on the roster. The lineup is loaded with talents and there reporters, who want to justify Bregman or Arenado to the Sox, playing games and speculating how it could be done. It isn’t a good trade off to get rid of a cost controlled talent, move their star hitter to 1B where he doesn’t want to play, only to sign Bregman to an overprice contract. Or to trade for Arenado.
This Red Sox team is already flawed. However, they are flawed in a way that improving the lineup isn’t logical. They don’t need new players, what the Sox need is maturity to fully bloom and produce the results they’ve been on the edge of for the last couple season. And a lot of that will actually come from the pitching, especially the bullpen.
Cleveland – Great points! Let the kids continue to develop and bond together, and make changes the right way.
There seems to be a lot of potential for unhappiness and discord in the clubhouse this year. And Cora is the worst possible manager to try and handle it.
The Sox won’t get the value needed from a Casas trade.
It doesn’t make sense to acquire a player with a big contract and multiple years left which would contribute to blocks of the young position players.
The key to adding an impact player is to free up the DH role.
Yoshida is the main problem here. Casas could dh otherwise. Also, devers refusing to move off third is not helping. The team should tell him he has one season to prove he’s not the worst fielding 3b in the game or the decision will be made for him
Better yet, tell him he can play where he is told to play or he ride the bench. Devers is an employee not the effing CEO!
That’s fine by me. I was suggesting a route that saves face for everyone
@Tang, sorry, sometims my Irish/Marine boils over lol.
DBH – I feel you brother, I was born around the same time as you and I know that’s how it used to be back in the day.
But today? Players are coddled beyond belief. I could give details but I think you get my drift. If Casas stays and Devers is moved, you’re looking at two key players who will be very unhappy and could disrupt the clubhouse chemistry in a big way.
ESPECIALLY if the Red Sox promised Devers he wouldn’t be moved before Age 30.
Should be quite an interesting year.
That’s not much of a threat since he already has his big money contract. Boston’s paying him whether they play him or not. His ego, much like Xavier’s, should not have been an unseen factor in deciding to give him that contract. XB was never a SS, and Devers is a poor excuse for a 3B, (for Joemo) defensively.
stymee – Who is Xavier? You switching to Celtics talk?
I wrote that above. I’d give the entire IF one prove-it year. All four of them were injured last year, and I don’t mind giving the kids some more minor league ABs.
Casas takes the mound to hit? Someone should do better proof reading before posting articles.
I don’t think that other teams think Casas is as good as Boston thinks he is. He is Boston’s Clint Fraizer. They don’t want him, but they are convinced that your team should give up a young, controllable ace to obtain him. Throw in Jesus Montero and Miguel Andujar and you’ve got a deal!
Teams want him, but not straight up for an ace which is what Boston offered. There is a quality trade that can be made, the problem is should they.
Clint Fraizer is harsh. The asking price might be too high, but the only reservations I’d have about acquiring him center on questions about his durability. I don’t know why Boston would want to trade him if their valuation of him is higher than everyone else anyway. If they value him that much, wouldn’t it make sense to keep him in Boston?
Agent – A much better comp is Nick Johnson.
Big strong first baseman who had an .894 OPS his first full season.
And for his entire career he was constantly hurt.
This should help you….youtube.com/watch?v=uoghPts44Ng
i should keep this as a template for how many times it needs posting:
frazier (like andujar and bird) was not an overrated prospect who flamed out. he was an above-average player with even more upside whose career was derailed by a concussion
dasit – Nick Johnson is a better comp.
larkraxm: “They don’t want him, but they are convinced that your team should give up a young, controllable ace to obtain him.”
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Wrong. If they didn’t want him, they could get rid of him without a problem. The Red Sox were only willing to trade Casas for a big return. They offered him for a young, controllable starter from Seattle. Seattle wanted him for Castillo, but the Red Sox would only do that if Seattle also took on Yoshida’s. So, they value Casas and will only trade him for a big return which makes.sense to me.
Two trades that the M’s and Red Sox should strongly consider (one or the other, not both):
1. Red Sox receive Andres Munoz (4yrs/$27M on deal with club options for each of the escalating last 3 years of deal); Mariners receive Tristan Casas
2. Red Sox receive Mitch Haniger (1yr/$15.5M); Mariners receive Yoshida (3yrs/$54M) plus $10M in cash.
Deal 1 allows Devers to move to 1B and adds a young closer with several years of cheap control to Boston’s bullpen. Mariners get big LHH which they need.
Deal 2 allows the Red Sox to exchange the $54M owed to Yoshida for $25M of dead money. They can cut Haniger to open the roster spot and then have DH for Devers or Casas. Mariners exchange a dead roster spot for a serviceable DH who is effectively on a 3yr/$30M deal which isn’t crazy unreasonable for his skill set.
Munoz is overrated. His strike-throwing is a problem. Not mature enough, and is helped by the Mariners infielders and Marine layer more than you’d want in Fenway with our middle infield defense.
Casas would be an overpay for the Sox because they could easily go sign Hoffman and get just as good if not better results.
No reason to give up Yoshida for the broken Haniger. This is a forced idea. The Sox don’t need to balance the lefty-righty at DH. There aren’t that many LHP in the AL, it won’t be enough innings to justify them paying millions of dollars to get rid of decent enough hitter.
For the Red Sox, the problem is 26 man space and DH access if they sign Bregman (if they don’t sign Bregman than it doesn’t make any sense). Obviously, if the Red Sox decide to spend at upper market again, they can sign Bregman + another high leverage reliever, but that seems unlikely at this point (and even if they do, they’d be extra motivated to more Yoshida).
They have roster spots allotted to Duran, Rafaela, Abreu, Devers, Casas, Yoshida, Story, Wong, Narvaez, 2B and Bregman. That leaves two bench spots to be split between Hamilton, Gonzalez, Anthony, Mayer or whatever bench options they might target.
I also disagree with your take on Munoz. He has a career FIP of 2.75. His stuff is legitimate.
The Red Sox don’t want Haniger (likely just cut him). However, if they can get rid of $30M of money to Yoshida that is valuable and moving Yoshida helps balance their use of roster spots better.
I’ve had the opportunity to watch Munoz pitch a lot, his stuff is good but he doesn’t use it well. His control is dismay and results in scary innings where you’re on the edge of your seat for no reason. And then he’ll have stretches of pure dominance. The volatility is a problem and not worth Casas. The Sox would be better off signing Hoffman.
Those both seem kinda reasonable, Munoz for Casas probably has Seattle saying NO but it feels like the right kinda painful to me. Munoz’s contract is a steal.
Munoz for casas never happens. Not in 1 million years
The other trade seems to me to be a “move to make a move” deal.
Seattle wouldn’t do either.
Moncada was excellent starting out as a Red Sox. I’m a brewer fan and want the guy on our team. I’m wondering if Boston would want Moncada since he will come relatively cheap to man 3B with Devers moving to 1st. Save a lot from Bregman and might get close to the same production if Moncada is healthy. Lots of teams including Milwaukee would be open to trading for Casas.
Do Boston fans have interest in a reunion with Moncada or what are Sox fans (of the red variety) thoughts on Moncada during this free agency period?
Nope
He can’t stay healthy. It’s a horrible gamble when you’re “trying to win the division.” When healthy he’s been streaky at best.
Devers won’t move to first. This isn’t actually happening. This is speculation from annoying reporters.
@Cleveland – It’s not up to Devers whether or not he moves off of third base. It’s up to the manager and the front office. While he may not prefer this, he’s a professional and has already signed his massive contract so he’ll play wherever the team needs him to play. Devers wants to win more than anything so if they go out a get a top notch 3B, Devers will move and do what is best for the team and not complain about it. He has his lifetime security now so there is no risk to making him ‘less-valuable’ in the markets eye by moving him to 1B or DH as he’s being paid top dollar for the next 8-9 seasons no matter where he ends up positionally.
Well who says the Red Sox are even doing this? They haven’t even come close to this. Also, why would the organization antagonize their best hitter by making him do something he doesn’t want. They’ll be stuck together for a while, you don’t sour a relationship like this over a little issue to sign a free agent. Devers and the team knows he’ll move off 3B eventually, but it won’t happen so early in the deal. So it’s a non-issue in totality.
Moncada was a prospect barely played with Boston he had like 20 plate appearances and he struck out in most of them.
I doubt they would be interested.
Won’t have to worry about Mayer as he’ll likely be on the IL for most of his tenure.
I can’t really get behind trading Casas now, despite the positional logjam. Casas might end up being nothing much, which is of course a risk, but his current trade value seems lower than his potential value since he was injured for much of last season. I’d rather let him show what he can do this year than pre-emptively trade him to flourish elsewhere for an uncertain return,
Rather see them eat a chunk of Yoshida’s salary and move him instead.
The problem with that is the “chunk” they would have to eat of Yoshida’s salary to move him would be about $10-12M per year. They should still do that to clear the roster spot but many teams would rather live with roster mistakes and keep blocking the spot than admit the mistake, eat the money required and move on.
Read my trade suggestion. Casas has 30 million in surplus value according to trade simulator.
If the Red Sox were going to trade Casas they would have done it 2 years ago when he was still a prospect. They wouldn’t give him a starting job as 23 year old and then ship him off a few years later, it’s not how the team operates. This is just more Red Sox clickbait because the team doesn’t leak anything to the media.
It’s that and the fact that the Sox did explore trades involving him earlier in the offseason looking to acquire starting pitching. Those attempts went nowhere and the Sox filled their starting needs between the Crochet trade and the Buehler signing.
Another factor is people keep trying to build a landing spot for Bregman, but he only fits in Boston if one of their lefty hitting options at the corners or DH is moved. So hence the repeated “Boston is looking to move Casas” stuff. It’s all rehashed crap at this point.
If the rumor that Vladdy wants to play for Boston is true, they should throw together a package of Casas and x prospects to get him here now with a handshake agreement that they will get an extension done. Vladdy and Devers holding down the 3 and 4 spots for the next 10 years is freaking magical. Toronto needs to rebuild, and a young 1st baseman with 4 years of cheap control and 30+ HR potential is a nice start. That being said, if that deal isnt possible, then retain Casas, sign a high profile reliever, and pray that Campbell is ready to come up and be an impact right handed bat this year.
I don’t think that rumor is true
That doesn’t mean he’s going to sign with the Red Sox anyways.
The Red Sox do not need a lefty hitter. At all.
Well Vladdy is a right handed batter so…
Ugh what was i thinking?
I really want no part of Vladdy. He can be elite but can also be mediocre, and will command huge money that will be an albatross for the acquiring team IMO. Boston certainly doesn’t need him, with their surplus of position players (even if they traded one of said players to acquire him).
Henry doesn’t pay for 1B. He’s always kept it cheap and the few times he spent, he move away from the deal fairly quickly for cheaper pastures.
Signing Guerrero Jr. doesn’t sound like a move Henry will do anyways, but add in that Casas, a cost-controlled 1B, and Devers, who may need to move off 3B in a few seasons, makes it certain it won’t happen. You could also throw in that the Blue Jays are in the same division and should also eliminate any trade ideas.
But Henry does pay for DH’s (see JD Martinez, David Ortiz, etc).
John Henry signed 1B Adrian Gonzalez to a huge extension.
Did he really pay them that much in the whole scheme of it, though?
Ok I suggested this mock trade yesterday or something close to it
Casas
Yoshida
Fitts or Criswell or Priester
For
Castillo
Haniger(Seattle pays entire salary)
This really helps both teams.
The Mariners get 3 players for 1 and a bum in Haniger so this helps them fill out their roster. And they also save money in the process. Yoshida can DH and play some patt time outfield putting Garver into a backup catcher platoon DH role he’s better suited for. Casas could be the best hitter on their team. And one of those starters could compete with Hancock and perhaps someone unsigned for rhe 5th starter spot.
The Red Sox get a top of the rotation pitcher which would really finish off their rotation and make them a legit contender. They get rid of 2 lefty hitters which they need to do badly. They could then move Devers to 1b which is probably his best position and either sign Bregman or trade for Arenado. Or they could sign Alonso that might make sense too.
As a Mariners fan I really like everything about this trade except that the Mariners pay all of Haniger’s salary, mainly because their cheap owner would not do that and besides that, why would the M’s have to pay Haniiger’s salary if we are taking on three years of Yoshida’s larger salary and the fact that Mitch H comes off the books in 2025 while Yoshida is on the Hook until at least 2027.
The Haniger deal is a sunk cost and it was when they acquired him they took him on to get out of the Ray contract. So yeah i think the owner would do that.
You are taking on Yoshidas salary but getting Casas. Instead of having to buy a good 1b you get one for league minimum. That’s why the Marinees would take on Yoshidas salary. You really don’t understand that?
Funny. Seattle calls with that deal and the Sox hang up telling them to lose their number. Hanover has little if any value and Castillo is not needed. What they want is a young starter, So far Seattle has refused to consider any young arm. Casas should be recovered from that bizarre injury (he likely came back way too soon) and with his controllable years, it’s going to be painful if you want to get him. The earlier suggested package deal for Castillo was before they made their other moves.
I hate autocorrect. Haniger
Of course Haniger has no real value. Who said he did??? I said clear as day he’s a throw in. Used the word bum.
Why would the Red Sox want a younger starter instead of Castillo? Where did you get that bit of nonsense from?
Don’t do that. Don’t be condescending. I completely understand the situation, I still don’t think that the M’s owner would pay Haniger’s salary and Yoshida’s salary at the same time. I also don’t like it. You can understand something and not like it as well. I don’t like the Idea of paying both salaries. Not when Haniger’s comes off the books after 2025. I would say a few more things about your response, but I will leave it at this for now.
I don’t think you do completely understand the situation.
The Haniger contract is a sunk cost. They took that stupid contract in order to get out of the terrible Ray contract.
Yoshida is overpaid. But if taking him gets you Casas who is definitely underpaid then it evens out. And they are taking money they spent on the rotation in Castillo and swapping it for offense which I think is exactly what they need to do.
Haniger is still coming off the books after 2025. The Mariners don’t have to pay Castillo anymore that’s an important detail you are ignoring
Get over yourself, condescending and cannot listen to anyone else, I just don’t like that part of the trade idea. I get all of it, just don’t like that part. That simple and it is my opinion, It is not that I don’t understand your idea. Just because you disagree with someone does not mean that you don’t understand.
You are mentioning the Haniger salary as if that matters in the slightest. Take him out of the deal entirely if that makes you happy. His salary means nothing at all.
The Sox would immediately DFA Haniger. While Seattle would take on 3 years of Yoshida’s salary, they would actually be saving some money here because Boston picks up Castillo’s $25M salary for the next 3 years. Yoshida only makes $18M per year. I’m just not sure that Boston needs Castillo anymore now that they have signed Buehler and acquired Crochet. They would probably have to deal one of their starters if they agreed to this trade.
Haniger can keep the seat warm and most importantly help keep an extra year of team control by taking up a roster spot until mid season when Campbell or Anthony is ready.
I agree Boston doesn’t have to have Castillo. But they would be better with him.
There was already speculation of Boston going to a 6-man rotation last week because they have 6 major league quality starters set for 2025 not including the trio you mentioned. They don’t need to add Castillo to that mix. Before they signed Buehler that may have worked but right now it no longer does.
How many starters did the Dodgers have last year? Buehler, Giolito, and Crochet are pretty big injury risks. The Red Sox could still use Castillo.
There are on,y 40 roster spots and only 26 active ones with only half of those available for pitchers. They aren’t going to take up 7 of the 13 for starting pitchers nor are they going to relegate Crawford, Houck or Bello to AAA.
Houck
Crochet
Castillo
Buehler
Giolito
Bello
They could trade Crawford. Someone would want him. They could include him in the trade with the Mariners to improve the return.
Seattle doesn’t have room for Casas + Yoshida because Raley exists. They could certainly use one or the other, but not both.
Also, I’m not sure I understand the point of including Haniger in the trade if Seattle eats his entire contract.
This trade proposal is just a worst version of the Castillo for Casas + Yoshida framework already rejected by Seattle.
Seattle definitely has room for both. Raley can play outfield.
The point of including Haniger is the Mariners would have too many outfielders and the Red Sox could use a righty hitting outfielder.
You have no idea what was rejected by Seattle. Stop pretending rumors are true and facts that’s dumb as f.
No thanks
HELL NO!!! About as simple as it gets!! Self explanatory why it is a HELL NO!
Horrible trade for Boston
Why is that a bad trade for Boston? They lose 2 hitters 1 of which they really dont need at all and they lose a depth starter and get a top of the rotation guy in Castillo. Why would they not want to do this?
Anthony, Mayer and Campbell are all projected to be ready by mid season 2025. Where are those guys going to play? Show your work.
Casas alone is too much for Castillo who is trending down, older and doesn’t perform well outside of Seattle. They don’t need to give up casas to dump yoshida and I certainly wouldn’t add a depth starter that they will most likely need after injury. Castillo is unnecessary after WB and they could just DFA yoshida is they really cared about fielding the best team.
Of course Casas alone is too much for Castillo that’s why Yoshida is included in the deal.
Castillo is not a tor guy he has had a serious decline in velocity and his ground ball rate has gone way down he looks in decline. Maybe Breslow panics if he didn’t already trade for Crochet and sign Buehler but not now. It’s an easy pass for Boston.
Poor asset management
I’d rather let the first couple of months of the season play out and see what the needs of the team really are. Between injuries and unexpected performances good and bad, what we think a team needs in February often isn’t what it really needs for the stretch run.
Keep Casas, keep a path open for the prospects, and keep the ability to trade for what you really need this summer.
Should keep Casas and traded for Lux. The dodgers basically have him away.
*gave him away
The Dodgers got a valuable draft pick and a 3rd rounder from the last draft. That’s a decent haul for Lux.
Why the loser red sox are trying to move Casas is beyond me
Breslow said the other day that they are not shopping Casas. There is no news in this article.
The only new thing mentioned was about Alonso being an option to take over at first. I would rather keep Casas unless a young pitcher was a trade option.
I really find it hard to believe they are interested in Alonso when they have Casas.
This is the dumbest idea. Casas is an impact bat with the potential for the same power output as Alonso but at a way better price point. While the d metrics on Casas aren’t overwhelming, Alonso doesn’t offer any kind of upgrade on the defensive side, either.
They just need to stop with all this aging offensive position signings or trades. Go sign a reliever, go get Profar who can play all over the field to some degree and call it an offseason.
Profar plays corner OF, preferably LF, and is not great at it. He does not “play all over the field”. Before all the injuries that may have been true, but not now.
Trade for Arenado (hopefully dump Yoshida in the trade) and rotate him/Devers/Casas between 1B/3B/DH.
Casas 50 DH 100 1B
Devers 50 DH 100 3B
Arenado 50 3B 50 1B 50 DH
Arenado plays 3rd late in games on Devers days when possible with lead
They need to trade one of their LHH to make room in the lineup for a RHH power bat, but the obvious choice is Yoshida. Trading a better player to hang onto a weaker player, just because nobody else wants him, is a BAD move. Always trade — or dump — the weak link.
yep. he’s awful in the field, will be overpaid the next 3 seasons and every gm in the sport knows they are desperate to get rid of him. the return will be minimal but it is what it is. agree to pay 6M of his 2025 salary and get a mid-level prospect
Three more years of that Story contract. How do you miss your foot with the Bogaerts contract, but ensure you shoot it on the second try?
story: hurt when they desperately need him and healthy when he’s part of a logjam
Move Yoshida!!!! I personally like him, but he’s the one that is holding up the whole situation. Granted, they’re going to have to pay a good chunk of his deal to get someone to take him; since he just had surgery and all. But offer Yoshida, half his contract, and a lower level prospect…some team will bite. Move Devers to DH, where he belongs; and trade for Arenado, or sign Bregman. Highly doubt they’d go the Bregman route…too much money. But Arenado won’t cost a lot and strengthens the lineup, even if his bat is in decline. And he GREATLY strengthens the defense. Then add Scott, Hoffman or Yates to finish out the pen…voila!! Competitive (and balanced) team!
I don’t think they should trade Casas right now, at least keep him until the deadline, let him prove his value
They should trade Casas for Arozerena.
Arozerena would be great in Fenway , with batting right handed, his personality, speed. Plus he’s cheap compared to equivalent players like Teoscar or Santander
Mariners could use a more left handed bats
If mariners can’t trade Castillo they’ll have to dump Arozerena contract next year anyways due to arbitration raises and ownership cheapness
Trade 1 :Arozerena, Locklear for Casas
Trade 2: Castillo, RP Santos for Mullins , Mountcastle, and Ramon Urias
Sox aren’t touching Arozarena. Definitely not for Casas. Same with Locklear, not worth the hastle to sign Pete Alsonso.
Trade for arenado sign Alonso Let devers dh.
Mayer for arenado
Casas for Castillo
This should help you too….youtube.com/watch?v=uoghPts44Ng
Good luck!
not sure why mlbtr articles keep using phrases like “if the red sox opt to move devers off of third” when he’s made it clear he’s not moving
Trade Devers if he refuses to move across the diamond (I know, nobody takes that contract). They had to sign him back then but this contract is going south fast. He got his money without working his defense so he’s like why bother? Bregman would be the play, short deal higher AAV. Keep Casas, maybe get a bag of used BP balls for Yoshi.
In my view, Bregman isnt signed in Boston because Devers doesnt want to be DH.
I can’t believe nobody talking about keeping Casas right where he is, eating half the Yoshida contract and trade him, move Devers to DH and trade for Arenado.
Sox fans – How about Casas for Arenado and STL eats 1/2 of Arenado’s deal.
Cardinals don’t need Casas. Technically Contreras is supposed to play 1b but they have Burleson and Gorman one of them will end up at 1b long term.
Arenado for Mayer Cardinals pay all of Arenados salary. I think that makes some sense.
Cardinals don’t need Mayer. They have Winn locked up there for the next 5-10 years.
The Cardinals number one reason to trade Arenado is to dump salary. They are not going to eat all of it.
Mayer would play 3b not SS.
No
While it might be out of their comfort zone, dangle Yoshida and cash (lots of it) at a west coast team (Giants, Mariners, Angels, Padres, though they are probably the least likely to bite) and sign Alonso. Rotate Casas and Alonso between 1B/DH, Casas played some 3B in the minors, let him take some reps there in spring training and go from there
Rsox – So you’re saying keep Devers at 3B for at least 3 years? Because I don’t think Alonso is signing for less.
At this point that is probably happening anyway so why not?. Get the big RH slugger to pair with him in the lineup and hope the offense outweighs the defense
I’m guessing the roster is mostly set and we’ll see Masa and Ref platoon at DH. Raffy and Casas stay on the corners. And the Sox pray one of Grissom or Campbell rise to the occasion and win the 2B job.
Any furthet additions will likely be in the bullpen.
They could go into the season with the way things are. But by mid-season they are going to need to trade 2 lefty hitters to make room for Mayer and Anthony. And they will probably need to trade someone to make room for Campbell. That’s a lot of dealing for a team in July
Yeah, they kind of almost have too much talent in the minors….I know, ridiculous.
But Duran, Rafaela and Abreu seem like they deserve the chance to build off last season. One will have to falter for Anthony to make it up. Mayer should probably be up when Story gets his annual rehab. And I’d be willing to bet Campbell beats out Grissom for 2B.
Having youth is great, but tough to find spots for them all.
It’s not just a talent problem it’s specific to lefty hitters.
swan – I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re right.
I really don’t understand what makes Casas so expendable. This article doesn’t elaborate well on that point. He’s a great hitter with 4 years of club control left at a position where the Sox have minimal depth. He’s a core player and a franchise building block. Why would they want to trade him?
Agreed. Breslow just said they are not shopping Casas.
mlbtraderumors.com/2024/12/craig-breslow-discusses…
The offers for Casas are nowhere near what he is worth to the Red Sox, thus he isn’t going anywhere.
Casas is going nowhere. Breslow aint dum
Casas is already a White Sox minor leaguer! So what is even this?
How could anyone think having Devers and Casas is a dilemma? I don’t see how they could improve the hitting by getting rid of either of those two. Let alone for Bregman or Arenado.
Papi needs to sit down with Devers and explain to him the glory of a career as DH.
The time has come for Devers to accept—nay, to *embrace*—a new role as slugger without any fielding duties.
If Casas can stay healthy and manage to hit closer to 30-40 home runs in a full season, the Red Sox might consider trading him at peak value. I see him as a guy injury prone his whole career, so why not try to sell high instead at a low (now)?