The Boston Red Sox have already completed two trades this winter to bolster their rotation by adding Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo, but there is always the possibility of adding another pitcher.
As many saw with the New York Mets last year, teams can never have enough starting pitching. Even though the Red Sox now need to go after hitters, there is a logjam in their outfield that could be freed up by trading for another front-end starter.
Jake Mintz from Yahoo Sports is urging the Red Sox to cut ties with outfielder Jarren Duran and designated hitter Masataka Yoshida in order to land starting pitcher Edward Cabrera.
“The Red Sox have too many outfielders. In order to ensure an optimal alignment — glovesmith Ceddanne Rafaela in center and not second base — the Red Sox need to trade either Wilyer Abreu or Jarren Duran because, well, hot-shot slugger Roman Anthony isn’t going anywhere,” Mintz wrote on Friday. “The Red Sox would love to offload as much of DH Masataka Yoshida’s contract ($18.6 million in 2026 and 2027) as possible. Unfortunately, he has turned into an offensive zero and a roster clogger.”
The Marlins seemingly know Cabrera is a hot commodity this winter, so it’s likely that many teams check in with them to find out their asking price. While Mintz does mention that it would likely take more for Miami to part ways with Cabrera, these two players could be the foundation of the trade.
Yoshida is owed $18.6 million over the next two seasons, so Craig Breslow would likely have to retain between 25-50% of his salary in order to even offload him to a team like the Marlins that is always toward the bottom of the league in payroll.
It’s not entirely impossible for a deal of this nature to happen, but it won’t be as easy as dumping Duran and Yoshida for a pitcher with Cabrera’s quality.
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