As the Boston Red Sox look to improve their roster heading into 2027, they are starting from a good place. Boston fell in the Wild Card Series for the second consecutive season, but many interpreted this as a disappointing underperformance from a very talented group that's still intact moving forward.
The Red Sox's standing in Bleacher Report’s latest Moneyball rankings certainly points to Boston being among MLB's elite. B/R ranked the Red Sox sixth overall for roster value, with high-output, relatively low-cost contributors like Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela being huge reasons why.
On the other end of the spectrum, Boston still has some bad contracts on its ledger that the Red Sox could greatly enhance their roster's value by removing. Trevor Story is one, but he's unfortunately difficult to trade given his 10-5 rights. There are two other low-value Red Sox players, though, that Boston could send packing this offseason with less difficulty.
Red Sox could enhance their roster's value by trading Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida
The Red Sox are open to moving one or both of Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida this offseason, per @alexspeier. pic.twitter.com/ANAfuOAttS
— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) November 6, 2026
With Duran expected to earn $11.1 million in 2027 (via MLB Trade Rumors) and Yoshida entering the final season of his five-year, $90 million deal, these two players could account for more than $29 million next season. Yikes.
You don't have to remind any Red Sox fan that neither Duran nor Yoshida is worth that investment. There's a decent argument to keep Duran for insurance against Roman Anthony's fragility, but there's no such argument for the poor defender Yoshida, who's pretty much been pushed out of Boston's lineup at this point.
How many transaction cycles in a row have we been talking about the Red Sox's outfield logjam? Well, here we are again. Sadly, all of this is worth repeating, since the problem remains unsolved. Rather, the Red Sox aren't attacking the solution. Trading one or both of Duran/Yoshida would simplify the daily playing time puzzle for Chad Tracy, and it would have Boston looking a lot more flexible from a financial standpoint.
Who knows exactly how chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will proceed? Can we rule out a non-tendering of Duran, for example? You have to think that Boston will try to exhaust all trade possibilities for Duran (or decide to keep him) before resorting to more dire measures.
This much is clear: There's some fat to be trimmed from Boston's roster, and there's a shorter offseason window this time around within which to make some impactful decisions.
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