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Boston Red Sox hypothetical fire sale: Five potential trade ideas

By Rick McNair

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 30: Owner of the Boston Red Sox John Henry is presented with the trophy after the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 in Game Six of the 2013 World Series at Fenway Park on October 30, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 30: Owner of the Boston Red Sox John Henry is presented with the trophy after the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 in Game Six of the 2013 World Series at Fenway Park on October 30, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – JUNE 07: The Fenway Park facade displays a Pride flag in honor of Pride night at Fenway Park before a game between the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox on June 07, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JUNE 07: The Fenway Park facade displays a Pride flag in honor of Pride night at Fenway Park before a game between the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox on June 07, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

The Red Sox have money, but what would happen if conditions suddenly existed that forced a franchise dismantling? Just what type of return could be expected of young, talented, and controllable players?

Charlie Finley dismantled an Athletics team that won three straight World Series championships with his motivator being free agency and the impending doom it would present to Finley. The Red Sox purchased Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers only to have the transaction vacated by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.

Going back into A’s history a similar occurrence happened in the years after the Great Depression started when owner Connie Mack was financially strapped.  The Red Sox and Tom Yawkey stepped in and Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx came to Boston. This was a repeat of what Mack Had done in 1915 with the emergence of Federal League competition.

Since the advent of free agency we have seen successful teams dismantled over pending salary issues – Miami seems to have a patent on the system. Others look towards deep pockets on the bookend coasts to sell off fat contracts or impending free agents for prospects of low mileage ( limited service time) players.  Just what would the Red Sox get?

I am not advocating for the Red Sox to have a Charlie O. type fire sale, but the curiosity factor is certainly present.  Who to ship out? Who to keep? What teams in the mix? Obviously, a Rafael Devers or Andrew Benintendi would be retained even by a desperate team based on service time, but others are vulnerable. Just what could a different set of circumstances produce in an early July housecleaning?

Consider the following like astrology – fun to read, but not to take seriously.

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