The offseason is coming to a close, and the Boston Red Sox finally finished. The front office did its best to replace Alex Bregman with Willson Contreras and Caleb Durbin — we'll have to wait and see how that pans out.
Rumors swirled all offseason about Boston trading one of their outfielders. Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Wilyer Abreu have all been mentioned in mock trades this winter. ESPN's Dave Schoenfield proposed using one to upgrade the infield.
In his "MLB trade proposals that could shake up spring training" article, Schoenfield mocked a straight swap between the Sox and Mets of Abreu for Brett Baty, but the Sox should be pushing for way more if Abreu is part of their price.
Thankfully, trading Abreu was never part of the Sox's offseason plans. His defensive skills and power are irreplaceable by anyone else in Boston's camp, making this trade proposal with New York even more lopsided.
Why Wilyer Abreu and Brett Baty aren’t comparable trade pieces
Baty is a player that Craig Breslow should've considered. While the 26-year-old hits from the left side, he has the infield positional versatility that the Sox are looking for. He had a 60-40 split between the third and second base, and was a net neutral defensively between the two. He was also a 3.1 bWAR player last season. He just doesn't have equal value to Abreu.
Abreu continued to take steps forward last season. While he missed time due to injury, he had his highest power output. In just 115 games, the lefty had career highs with 22 home runs, 69 RBIs, and .786 OPS. The 24-year-old also has four years of control.
The part of Abreu's game that truly places him above Baty is the defense. He has won back-to-back Gold Gloves patrolling Fenway's cavernous right field. Last year, he was +8 Outs Above Average, tied for second best among right fielders in MLB with Fernando Tatis Jr and one behind Corbin Carroll, four better than the next best player in the AL. His +15 OAA over the last two seasons is tied for best in baseball.
Baty, on the other hand, is merely average. While he's been +4 at third base the last two seasons, the Sox want Marcelo Mayer to play there. Last year was his first time playing second at the major league level, and he was -1 OAA. That was worse than David Hamilton, who also hits from the left side (and he's no longer on the team for those reasons).
Abreu and Baty are not of equal value, which explains why Boston never seriously considered this swap. If the Sox trade away any of their outfielders, they need to be getting a haul of great value. Abreu is a perfect fit for the Red Sox, and while someone will eventually be a casualty of the outfield surplus, a one-for-one swap for a lesser player shouldn't even be a thought in Breslow's mind.