The Boston Red Sox could be looking at some drastic moves this offseason. They have an overfull 40-man roster, with just three free agents coming off the books. Payroll-wise, they are already pushing the second luxury tax threshold before signing a single free agent. Roster-wise, every position player spot is currently accounted for with backups.
That leaves few options for Craig Breslow this winter. They can run it back with the roster they currently have and hope for improvement, make minor trades to address some weak points, or be aggressive and make a splash. This winter will be a big test to see if the man the ownership put trust in is truly worthy of the CBO position.
If they choose to make a splash, one way to do so would be to acquire Ronald Acuña Jr. The 2023 NL MVP is seemingly on the rocks with the Braves fanbase and possibly the organization, opening the door for a potential trade.
This Red Sox-Braves trade could be enough to net superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. for Boston
To make the trade, the Red Sox would need to utilize some players that fans would be uncomfortable trading. A package could look like:
Atlanta Braves acquire: OF Jarren Duran, RHP Brayan Bello, INF Andruw Monasterio, & INF Henry Godbout (BOS No. 5). Boston Red Sox acquire: OF Ronald Acuña Jr., RHP Owen Murphy (ATL No. 10), & Luke Sinnard (ATL No. 13).
The Red Sox would start to clear room in their outfield by trading away Duran. While his value tanked this season, he has All-Star potential and the tools to find his form again. Most believe leaving the pressure of Boston would help. They also send Bello, who looked terrible as a starter this season, but was an elite long relief option. While he has signed a relatively inexpensive contract that Atlanta would need to take on, they are also desperate for pitching help, and the one thing Bello has been his entire career is healthy.
Monasterio also heads south. The Red Sox have an overabundance of utility infielders and could use the righty, who had stretches of excellence this season, as a sweetener. Then, they also send their No. 5 prospect, Henry Godbout, as the true value pusher.
Coming to Boston besides Acuña is the Braves' No. 10 prospect Owen Murphy. The 24-year-old starter was the Braves' first-round pick in 2022. He made his MLB debut this season, but has dealt with injuries, including Tommy John surgery, in his career. He would provide upside and depth to the Red Sox rotation, which currently lacks high-end depth in the minors. Sinnard was a 2024 draft pick by Atlanta. He is listed at 6'7'', 250 lbs, an archetype the Red Sox love. He made Double-A last season, and MLB pipeline projects that the 24-year-old could make his MLB debut in 2027.
Acuña's 2023 MVP season was incredible. It is the only 40-home-run, 70-stolen-base season in MLB history, but he has struggled to stay healthy since then. He's played just 251 games in the last three seasons of a possible 486. He really struggled in 2024, seemed to be himself again in 2025 but still only played 95 games, and then was a 1.9 bWAR player in 107 last season.
Acuña is still a great player despite the injuries. In the last three seasons, he still had an .831 OPS, and it's an .860 in just the last two seasons. He hit 45 home runs with 112 RBI and stole 46 bases in the last three years. But three straight injury-shortened seasons will certainly lower his value.
What helps his trade value is his extremely team-friendly contract. He signed an eight-year, $100 million contract ahead of the 2019 season. While the eight guaranteed years of the deal are done, he has two club option years at only $17 million each for 2027-28. For a player with his talent, $17 million per year is easy on the books.
The reason this package could work is that both sides are taking on risk. Boston takes on a player who has played just 51% of the possible games over the last three seasons. If he stays healthy, then everyone in Boston is happy, but if he doesn't, it could be giving up major value and screwing itself.
On the other side, the Braves get an outfielder who has only gotten worse the last two seasons and has no guarantee of a bounce back, but has put up a season that was better than Acuña's MVP year by bWAR. They get a pitcher who could be a starter, but could also be a very expensive reliever. The Red Sox still send the best prospect in the deal, Godbout, to try and match the value and give Atlanta a sort of safety net if Duran and Bello don't work out. Atlanta also gets a utility infielder with years of team control on top of everything else.
Acuña's value is extremely hard to judge, and that's why any mock trade that involves him will be polarizing. In this scenario, both teams trade risky players, but the Red Sox still give up the most value. It could still be the type of trade that pushes the Red Sox over the top next season.
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