When the Boston Red Sox traded top prospect Jhonysxton Garcia to the Pittsburgh Pirates for starting pitcher Johan Oviedo on Thursday (other players involved), they did two things, from my vantage point.

1) They helped solidify their rotation for 2026 with another intriguing arm, as Oviedo figures to pair with Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello and then some semblance of Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval, Kyle Harrison, Payton Tolle and Connelly Early.

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2) They made it perfectly acceptable for them to hold onto Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu this offseason.

As has been stated 1,000 times already this offseason, the Red Sox have four good outfielders for three outfield spots. Duran, Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Roman Anthony are all worth playing and all bring something solid to the team. Therefore, each of them would be desirable on the trade market to another team, allowing the Red Sox to get something solid in return.

Garcia’s looming presence and big-league readiness only exacerbated the problem, and Masataka Yoshida’s presence at designated hitter continues to complicate things.

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By acquiring Gray and Oviedo, the Red Sox figure to be done acquiring pitchers, making it unnecessary to trade Duran or Abreu for rotation help. Even though Gray and Sandoval are free agents at the end of this season, the Red Sox have ample young arms to replace them in 2027.

Furthermore, with Garcia out of the picture, there isn’t imminent pressure on the outfield group from the farm system.

The only real “problem” right now is Yoshida’s spot on the roster, and with two years and $36 million remaining, his contract is no longer the albatross that it was. If the Red Sox can find a taker for Yoshida, then they can freely keep all the outfielders and rotate one through designated hitter.

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And finding a taker might not be that difficult: The A’s, Pirates and Marlins are reportedly all looking to spend money this offseason in an effort to avoid grievances about lack of spending. Perhaps one of those three teams would take Yoshida’s deal, freeing up the roster spot and allowing the outfielders to all cycle through the position.

The winter meetings begin on Sunday in Orlando, Fla, and the Red Sox continue to be connected to power-hitting infielders like Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso and Kazuma Okamoto. Jeff Passan of ESPN recently wrote they were going to sign a big offensive piece this offseason.

If that piece is Kyle Schwarber, then the DH spot becomes clogged again, perhaps leaving our plan in a different light.

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