3 Red Sox who survived the trade deadline but will be gone in the offseason

With the dust settled on the MLB trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox roster is starting to take its final shape. While players returning from injury are still major factors and will be big decisions once they are healthy, there aren't many major moves left to come.

Two months ago, all of Red Sox Nation expected a major fire sale in Boston. Then the Sox were the best team in baseball for over a month, and they ended up being buyers. That saved some people from being moved, but the offseason isn't far, and some of those people will be finding a new home for 2027. 

3 Red Sox who survived the trade deadline but will be gone in the offseason

Sonny Gray

The veteran starter is a free agent (assuming his mutual option isn't picked up, but they never are) at the end of the season, and will be 37 next year. He’s having a bounce back campaign, with a 2.65 ERA across 23 starts. Gray will likely head into free agency looking for his last big contract after a season like this, with expected stats that back up his performance. 

While Boston could look to bring him back, they still have elite pitching depth. Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle, and Jake Bennett are currently in the rotation and should be next year. Garrett Crochet will return. That leaves Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Johan Oviedo, Brayan Bello, and any rookie who gets called up this season fighting for the fifth spot. The Sox's payroll is already high, and it's unlikely they deal out the cash necessary to bring Gray back for next year. 

Jarren Duran

Duran will be a very interesting case this offseason. On one hand, he’s having a career worst season at the plate by a mile, and the off-the-field issues have become more prominent. On the other hand, he’s still under team control for two more seasons with a contract that is becoming harder to move.

Boston will once again go into this offseason with the outfield logjam a major talking point, and with Duran’s struggles, the case to keep all four gets much harder. Boston also acquired Eli White at the trade deadline, who has two years of control after this season and can fill the backup outfield role. The Red Sox will likely have to choose between a salary dump trade or non-tendering him, but either way it's likely a lose-lose for the Sox.

Trevor Story

This is more of a long shot, but the infield next season has quickly become very crowded. Caleb Durbin and Willson Contreras are locks at the corners. Then Story, Franklin Arias, Curtis Mead, Andruw Monasterio, Nick Sogard, and Anthony Siegler will all be battling for the middle infield spots. It’s likely Mead is the everyday second baseman, which leaves the other five battling it out for shortstop and the bench. 

Story has once again failed to stay healthy for the entirety of a season. It seems like Arias is much closer than anyone had thought a few months ago, and Andruw Monasterio has proven to be a bat that shouldn’t be left out of the lineup very often. It’s hard to see exactly where Story fits into the puzzle for 2027, especially when factoring in that, if 2025 is removed, Story has been a .226 batter for the Red Sox with a .661 OPS. The reason that this is unlikely is that it will be hard to find anyone to take his $25 million contract next season, and it's unlikely the Sox cut him outright. 

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