Any given MLB team's offseason will come with a flurry of different types of moves. There will be star players leaving and joining, role players filling out lineups and rotations, and depth players signing under-the-radar contracts. Those moves will come via free agency and trades.
Players switch teams at different points in their careers as well. Some players are traded after a breakout season, netting the selling team a haul of prospects. Other players move in their primes in free agency, getting a massive payday. Some players are dealt after a down year, the selling team believing it's time to cut ties on an underperforming player.
When a player changes teams after a down season, it's considered a "buy-low" move for the player's new squad. Buy-low moves are high-risk, high-reward chances because you don't know if the player is just losing steam and winding down their career or needs a change of scenery to rediscover their form. Sometimes it comes in the form of taking a chance on a player following a season lost to injury.
In the case of the Boston Red Sox, it may not be time to take too many buy-low opportunities, but for a team with playoff aspirations, helping a player to regain his form can provide a massive boost to their World Series pursuit. The Sox have a few positions they are looking to fill, and they could look to fill them with a buy-low candidate.
4 low-priced trade candidates the Red Sox could pursue this offseason
Reynaldo Lopez
Following a 2023 season in which he played for the White Sox, Angels, and Guardians, Lopez signed a three-year deal with the Braves. He broke out in 2024 when posted a 1.99 ERA over 135.2 innings, made the All-Star team, and looked like the steal of the offseason. But his second half saw him hit the injured list twice. In 2025, he made one start before getting placed on the IL and then missed the entire season after not making it back from arthroscopic surgery in his throwing shoulder in April.
At one point, the Dominican native looked like a steal. Now, he's a starter who hasn't been able to stay healthy for a season and a half. The Braves are coming off their first playoff miss since 2017. They have a wealth of young starters that they may look to try out as they try to retool. It is the perfect time for the Red Sox, who are looking to upgrade the rotation but have the depth to manage if Lopez misses time, to try and steal him at a discounted rate.
If they can get a healthy version of him, he'll be a perfect No. 2 to Crochet. Lopez has two years and $22 million left on his contract, but the second year is a team option. Not only is Lopez a relatively cheap option, but if things don't pan out, they can cut him loose after one year.
Jeff McNeil
McNeil's situation is a bit different. The Mets' second baseman is coming off his third straight sub-2.5 bWAR season. He has certainly been serviceable for the Mets, but he hasn't lived up to the 4-year, $50 million extension he got after his breakout 5.9 WAR campaign in 2022. Now, going into his age-34 season, the Mets might look to offload McNeil to free up room for younger players to find playing time in the wake of their epic collapse.
Second base is a position the Sox might look to fill this offseason, especially if Alex Bregman doesn't return. While there are young players on the cusp of major league readiness in the Boston farm system, McNeil is also in a one-plus-one situation in his contract with a team option, meaning the Sox would only need to keep him around for one more season. The lefty is also extremely positionally versatile — which Alex Cora loves — playing 48 games in the outfield this season as well as two at first base.
Mitch Keller
The long-time Pirates starter has been in a healthy dose of trade rumors for a few seasons, but never seems to get traded. That is likely due to the five-year, $77 million extension that began in 2024. Keller is a workhorse, making 30+ appearances in four straight seasons, but he has steadily gotten worse over the last three years, going from 3.0 bWAR in 2023, to 2.0 in 2024, to 1.4 in 2025.
While Keller might be expensive, the Red Sox need another workhorse in the rotation. The Pirates, like the Braves, have their own litany of young arms ready for major league work. They need to clear space in the rotation, and moving off Keller, who will be 30 at the start of next season, seems like the way to do it. He likely won't be worth the almost $56 million he's owed over the next three years, but you never know what Breslow and Andrew Bailey can find in a pitcher. He wouldn't be worth a lot of prospect capital, especially if the Sox take on most of the contract, and Breslow has already made trades with the Pirates.
Nolan Arenado
A trade for Arenado fully hedges on Bregman leaving in free agency. That being said, he was almost a Red Sox last season. A year later, the righty is coming off the worst season of his career by WAR, but still ranked in the 81st percentile in outs above average.
Similar to Bregman, Arenado would be able to attack the Green Monster, which would instantly help his value in Boston. He's only being paid $31 million over the next two seasons, $8 million of that being covered by the Rockies. If the Sox were to take on all of the remaining $23 million, he would be very cheap. Defense is still a need for Boston, and Arenado can still kick it at the hot corner while replacing Bregman in the order.