Any way you slice it, Willson Contreras is a nice pickup for the Boston Red Sox.
On Sunday, the Red Sox reportedly acquired Contreras and $8 million in cash from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for right-handed pitchers Hunter Dobbins, Yhoiker Fajardo, and Blake Aita. Contreras profiles as Boston’s new starter at first base and should provide something in the ballpark of an .800 OPS, perhaps better,
However, every trade comes with benefits and drawbacks, and it appears the Red Sox may have waved the white flag on their pursuit of another star on Sunday night.
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No Ketel Marte for Red Sox?
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Red Sox are expected to suspend any talks they may have been having with the Arizona Diamondbacks about second baseman Ketel Marte, the three-time All-Star whose name has spread like wildfire around the rumor mill this winter.
The Diamondbacks are under no obligation to trade Marte, and seeing as the Red Sox were one of the front-runners early this winter, it may be that he never gets moved. The only way to know what the price would have been will be to compare the Red Sox’s farm system to what the team that acquires Marte pays — if he’s even moved at all.
Boston had to grab a bat, and Contreras came with three years of team control, including a club option for 2028. Marte is under contract for six more years, including a 2031 club option, and for better or worse, Boston seems to have decided that the cost wasn’t going to be worthwhile.
Of course, the other shoe that still has to drop is Alex Bregman, who was first linked to the Diamondbacks by Nightengale earlier this week. We also learned that the Toronto Blue Jays have been in contact recently with Bregman’s agent, Scott Boras.
As MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported on Sunday after the trade, the Red Sox “remain engaged” with Bregman, though there is certainly no guarantee there.
Will any team trade for Marte? If not, the Red Sox may have made the right call to audible to Contreras while they still could.
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