The Red Sox enter Tuesday’s game — which marks the halfway point of the 2025 season — at 40-40 and with just a 25.6% chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs. That means, after dealing Rafael Devers to San Francisco in a shocking five-player blockbuster last week, it remains possible that Boston continues selling in advance of the July 31 trade deadline.
In the wake of the Devers trade, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow indicated (as Red Sox officials did privately) that Boston still aimed to add ahead of the deadline and that the trade with the Giants did not signal a white flag being waved. But with just over five weeks to go before the deadline, the math might get too hard to ignore. Boston might find itself needing to sell key assets.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel ranked the top 50 trade candidates in baseball, and two Red Sox topped the list. In total, four Boston players were in the top 28.
Third baseman Alex Bregman, who is currently out with a quad injury, was ranked as the top trade candidate in all of baseball. ESPN gave him a 10% chance of being traded. The rationale is simple: Bregman, who can opt out of his deal after the season, could emerge as a good player on an expiring contract on a team with designs on selling. The Red Sox could also try to lock him up to a long-term extension and re-write his deal before the end of July but that’s seen as relatively unlikely because he’s represented by super-agent Scott Boras.
The No. 2 trade candidate in all of baseball is Jarren Duran and he has a 25% chance of being dealt, according to the rankings. The Red Sox obviously have a glut of left-handed hitting outfielders and Duran could be the odd man out if the Red Sox choose to move forward with Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu in the corners and Ceddanne Rafaela in center. Duran is under team control through 2028, so the Sox might not be in a rush to move him. But they could capitalize on his value peaking after last season’s breakout and the Padres, Braves, Guardians, Royals, Giants and Phillies are listed as potential fits.
Passan and McDaniel also list two rental pitchers later in the rankings. Closer Aroldis Chapman, who might make the American League All-Star team this year, would be a likely trade candidate should the Red Sox decide to sell. He’s ranked as the No. 18 player on the list and has a 35% chance of being dealt, per ESPN. Righty Walker Buehler, who had another blow-up start Monday and is at risk of losing his rotation spot, comes in at No. 28. He has a 6.29 ERA in 13 starts, so the Red Sox wouldn’t get much for him, but the contention from Passan and McDaniel is that teams would be interested in someone with postseason experience at a low price. ESPN puts the chance of a Buehler deal at 35% as well.
Bregman, Duran, Chapman and Buehler might not be the only Red Sox on the block. Veterans Rob Refsnyder and Justin Wilson are both on expiring contracts and could be valuable additions to a team with specific needs. Lucas Giolito will likely be under club control next year via a $14 million team option and Boston could sell high after a run of recent strong starts. Abreu, too, could pop up in rumors if the club decides to hold onto Duran and move another outfielder.