3) The Eric Hosmer to the Red Sox trade was always a weird one
At the deadline, Eric Hosmer was what held up the Juan Soto trade from happening. The Padres wanted to offload salary, but Hosmer had a limited no-trade clause. The Nationals were on that list, but the Red Sox were not.
The Red Sox didn't have a good situation at first base, but they also didn't need to. They were out of postseason contention, so the need for Hosmer wasn't glaring. They could've seen what they could get out of Bobby Dalbec who had been struggling, or just give Triston Casas the call Sox fans had been waiting for (they did in September).
Hosmer played just 14 games with the Sox as he missed time due to injury. He had 11 hits in 45 at-bats with three doubles and no home runs.
Casas beginning the year on the Opening Day roster was expected, but Hosmer still had three years left on his deal which made the trade just that much more confusing.
Rather than keep Hosmer as a bench piece, Boston decided to DFA the former all-star and cut their losses. Why Boston would trade for Hosmer with three years left on his deal only to watch him play 14 games and then cut him that offseason I'll never understand. Casas hasn't gotten off to a good start in his young career, but I'd much rather watch him at first base than Eric Hosmer.