After Craig Breslow's attempted big swing to trade for Minnesota Twins All-Star Joe Ryan at the trade deadline, Boston Red Sox fans are optimistic that they'll be active in the trade market this offseason.
The class of 2025-26 free agents is rather lacking in stars, with Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette and Kyle Schwarber at the top of the list, in terms of impact. The Red Sox have a deep pool of prospects and an outfield logjam to potentially trade from, and Ryan is still the top target on many fans' minds — he's a clear No. 2 starter who could elevate Boston's rotation to the same level as the Yankees and Blue Jays', and the Twins have a lot of needs the Red Sox's young prospects and outfielders could fill.
But Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report believes the Sox may go in a different direction on the trade market. In their piece about the most likely trade targets for every team in the league, Miller tabbed Houston Astros infielder Mauricio Dubón as a good fit in Boston.
Miller cites Alex Bregman's opt out, a potential opt out from Trevor Story and other infield inconsistencies, such as Story, Marcelo Mayer and Triston Casas' injury-proneness and a lack of certainty about Kristian Campbell's future as main drivers for a potential Dubón trade.
Bleacher Report tabs Mauricio Dubón as Red Sox's 'most likely' trade target this offseason
But Bregman could still return to the Red Sox on a long-term deal and Story hasn't yet announced his offseason plans. The shortstop noted on the day of Boston's Wild Card elimination that he "came here to be here for a long time," so many people expect him to return.
Dubón has one more year remaining on his contract with the Astros, and with Carlos Correa back in the picture in their infield, they could be itching to get rid of him for a return. The Red Sox should not help them do that. Dubón posted a down year offensively and posted a .241/.289/.355 slash line with a .644 OPS in 133 games and he ranked in the fourth percentile or less in xwOBA, xSLG, average exit velocity, hard hit percentage and barrel percentage. The Red Sox need more power and consistency, not another small ball player in their already streaky offense.
Dubón is an elite defender (he won a Gold Glove in 2023 and logged 99th-percentile range in 2025) and a versatile one, but the Red Sox aren't lacking in versatility as it stands. Romy Gonzalez can play all over the infield with better offensive results than Dubón and Boston has more than enough players who could slot into the middle infield.
If the Red Sox want to contend for the division in 2026, they need to aim higher than Dubón. Boston's lack of home run power showed in its early playoff exit, and Dubón's seven homers from last season won't move the needle. The Red Sox are better off saving their top prospects for elite pitching acquisitions than adding yet another low-power infielder to the mix.