Which outfielder will the Red Sox trade this offseason — if any?

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Alex Cora both recently spoke about whether Boston could return all four outfielders — Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Jarren Duran — in 2026 and make it work for a full season.

Anthony is obviously untouchable. Rafaela’s right-handed bat and Gold Glove defense at a premium position make him unlikely to be traded. Of the four outfielders, Rafaela is the only right-handed hitter.

That leaves Abreu and Duran as the two most likely trade candidates. Both of their names have surfaced in trade rumors over the past year.

“I would argue that having four outfielders capable of taking 550 at-bats is a great place to be and have a ton of confidence in Alex’s ability to manage the people and the personalities,” Breslow said. “We have to think about what is best for the organization, what’s best for building a winner in 2026.”

There was talk of the Red Sox potentially trading Duran at the deadline as part of a package for a No. 2 starter. The Red Sox’ lack of a No. 2 starter behind Garrett Crochet was clearly a weakness in September and during Boston’s AL Wild Card Series loss to the Yankees.

However, the Red Sox benefited from keeping all four outfielders because Anthony and Abreu suffered injuries down the stretch. Anthony missed the final 22 games with a left oblique strain. Abreu missed 30 games from Aug. 18-Sept. 21 with a right calf strain. The depth paid dividends.

Before the injuries, Cora had to use a rotation with either Duran, Abreu or Rafaela sitting.

“If I have four (outfielders), I can manage that,” Cora said. “You find ways. And at the end of the day, the deeper the better, to be honest with you. And that’s something that we got tested (with) at the end of the season. We cannot control injuries, we cannot control slumps. So as far as managing it, yeah, can do it.”

Reasons for keeping Abreu over Duran:

~ Abreu is an elite defender and Fenway Park has the most difficult right field in baseball because of the dimensions. Abreu, a 2025 Gold Glove finalist after winning the award last year, posted 15 defensive runs saved in 847 ⅓ innings in right field this season.

~ If the Red Sox were to trade Duran, Anthony would be the everyday left fielder. If the Red Sox were to trade Abreu, Anthony likely would be the everyday right fielder. Anthony posted eight defensive runs saved in 290 ⅓ innings in right field as a rookie this season but he’s probably best suited for left field at Fenway Park longterm for several reasons, including his arm strength.

Anthony finished in the 52nd percentile (84.6 mph) in arm strength this past season while Abreu ranked in the 97th percentile (94.2 mph). Abreu also has better arm value, defined by Statcast as a “metric designed to use data to evaluate the performance of baserunners and outfielders in taking or preventing extra bases.”

In terms of run prevention, the Red Sox would be much better with Abreu in right field and Duran in left field rather than Duran in left field and Anthony in right field.

~ The Red Sox lacked home run power this past season, finishing 27th in the majors in home runs during the second half. Abreu finished second on the team in homers (22) behind only Trevor Story (25) despite two IL stints. He not only missed 30 games with a right calf strain but he also missed nine games in June with a left oblique strain.

Cora has said multiple times that it’s difficult to string three hits together to score runs against today’s pitching, making home runs important and necessary. Eleven of Abreu’s 22 home runs tied the game or gave the Red Sox the lead.

Duran is averaging 16 home runs per 162 games in his career while Abreu is averaging 23. Some think there’s a lot more in there for Abreu, who was on a 30-homer pace at the end of July.

Hitting coach Pete Fatse believes Abreu can consistently be in the upper-20s and close to 30 home runs each season while Trevor Story said Abreu has “legitimate 30-35-plus home run power.”

Reasons for keeping Duran over Abreu:

~ Duran has been more durable than Abreu, who dealt with hamstring injuries in the minors and has had three IL stints (sprained ankle, strained oblique, strained calf) over the past two years. Duran, meanwhile, remained healthy the past two seasons, appearing in 160 games in 2024 and 157 games in 2025.

~ Duran’s value is down some after an inconsistent 2025 season, meaning he likely would not bring back the same return in a trade as last offseason when his value was at its highest. His OPS was 60 points lower in 2025 (.774) than it was in 2024 (.834).

~ Both Duran and Abreu struggled against left-handed pitching in 2025. But Cora appears to have more trust in Duran’s ability to hit lefties than Abreu’s.

Duran has started 79 times against left-handed starters the past two seasons while Abreu has made just 14 starts.

Duran has a .232 career average and .284 on-base percentage against lefties but he showed he can hold his own against them in 2024 with a .255 batting average and .319 OBP in 230 plate appearances. Abreu has a career .205 batting average and .271 on-base percentage vs. lefties.

Whether the Red Sox trade one or neither outfielder, it will be important to add a right-handed platoon hitter. Rob Refsnyder is eligible for free agency this offseason. Boston will need to re-sign him or add someone to replace him.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.