Pirates insider proposes intriguing trade involving Red Sox, Triston Casas

With the Winter Meetings come and gone, it's time for the Red Sox to show that they're serious about improving this team for 2025. Although many of the big-name free agents such as Juan Soto, Max Fried, Blake Snell and Willy Adames have already signed, there's still plenty of impactful players available, especially in the trade market.

One player the Red Sox seem willing to leverage in a trade is Triston Casas. While he clearly has potential, Boston has an abundance of left-handed power bats in both the lineup and the farm system. Not only that, but there have already been rumors that Rafael Devers will switch from third base to first owing to his lackluster defense, which would put Casas out of a job. The Red Sox already tried trading him to the Mariners in exchange for starting pitching, but that deal fell through.

However, Pirates insider John Perrotto recently proposed an interesting trade involving Casas that would send 2023 All-Star Mitch Keller to Boston. In this scenario, the Pirates gain a promising young slugger with four more years of club control, while the Red Sox add a solid starter to fill a major roster hole. This hypothetical trade would also give Boston second baseman Nick Gonzales and a pitching prospect.

Pirates insider proposes Red Sox trade to swap Triston Casas and Mitch Keller

Losing Casas isn't ideal, but it's clear that given the current roster construction, Keller is a better fit for this club. He's been a solid starter for the last three years, and most importantly, he's been an innings eater, having made 92 starts and covering 531 1/3 innings over the last three seasons. Given the Red Sox' pitching woes last year, they'll take any help they can get.

If they have to give up Casas, who is one of many lefty power hitters in the organization, in exchange, then so be it. Pittsburgh will likely feel similarly about Keller, as they would still be left with Paul Skenes and Jared Jones if this deal became a reality.

The only real downside with Keller is his contract, which has four years remaining at $72 million total. That salary takes a chunk out of the Sox' payroll and might limit their ability to be aggressive and shore up other weaknesses in the roster. But given the production that he's shown, it's not a player-friendly contract, and he certainly helps address a major problem for Boston.

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