Brandon Nimmo blockbuster trade shrinks outfield trade market for Red Sox

There were two blockbuster trades featuring outfielders last week, and neither involved the Boston Red Sox.

The first was a bizarre Baltimore Orioles trade involving Taylor Ward that saw former top pitching prospect (and current living medical study) Grayson Rodriguez head out to Los Angeles after none of his medicals were reviewed.

The other outfield trade was just as perplexing, as the New York Mets and Texas Rangers teamed up to swap burdensome contracts tied to productive players.

The Red Sox, of course, were never in the market for any of those players individually. However, with a glut of elite outfielders on the roster, these trades may have shifted things in an unfavorable manner for Craig Breslow's front office.

Red Sox lose key outfield suitor in Rangers, though the outfield market remains in their favor

While the Ward trade may have created some favorable market conditions for the Red Sox — a rental outfielder was dealt to a division rival who the Sox wouldn't have traded one of their outfielders to — the Rangers' acquisition of Nimmo certainly deleted any of that momentum.

After shockingly non-tendering World Series champion Adolis Garcia, there was a clear need in the Texas outfield for a quality defender with a powerful bat. That description fits Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu nicely, and the Rangers have both the veteran arms (Jacob deGrom, Nate Eovaldi) and youthful pitching (Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker) to attract the Red Sox's attention.

That deal appears to be out the window now, as Nimmo and Wyatt Langford will flank Evan Carter in the outfield in Texas. Of course, the Mets now need an outfielder after shedding Nimmo's contract, but they don't have the pitching to entice the Red Sox. The market specifically for Duran and Abreu feels as though it just shrunk a bit.

Though losing a suitor like the Rangers is a blow, it's still early in the offseason. Nimmo is in a similar talent tier as Duran and Abreu, but his contract (five years, $102.5 million remaining) is tough to swallow. His value was far lower than that of the Red Sox's star pair.

Likewise, the free-agent market doesn't have many intriguing alternatives. Kyle Tucker is a step above everyone else, but he's going to command over $300 million; plenty of teams will be priced out of his market. Cody Bellinger has an elite ceiling, but he's oscillated between tremendous seasons and disappointing ones since leaving the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Insofar as the Red Sox had any ongoing conversations with the Rangers, they'll likely need to pack up and shop elsewhere now. That's a frustrating turn of events, but hardly a condemning one when one is trying to sell Duran or Abreu.