3 players whose Red Sox future could be cut short after Winter Meetings
Craig Breslow will be forced to make several tough decisions this winter
Crazy things happen in December.
Baseball’s annual Winter Meetings are just around the corner and it remains anybody’s guess how the Red Sox will operate with new Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow at the helm.
Breslow does not have any attachment to players from the Chaim Bloom regime, so it’s safe to say that no move is off the table.
Here are three players whose time with the Red Sox could come to an end during the Winter Meetings.
3 players whose time with Red Sox could end after Winter Meetings
Alex Verdugo
Rumors surrounding Verdugo have run rampant ever since last summer’s trade deadline. The 27-year-old outfielder was even on “hug watch” in late July, but Bloom decided to keep the entire big-league roster in place, holding on to Verdugo, as well as veteran trade chips Adam Duvall and James Paxton.
This offseason, trade talks involving Verdugo have been rekindled. He has already been linked to three NL clubs and could be a popular name discussed when baseball’s brightest minds convene in Nashville, TN next week.
In order for the Red Sox to move on from Verdugo, they would need to receive a trade offer they can't refuse, presumably from a club outside of the American League (or, at the very least, outside of the AL East). Furthermore, a potential Verdugo trade would leave Boston with a vacancy in the outfield. In a best-case scenario, Boston ships away Verdugo for a pitching prospect and an outfielder who can play 100-plus games.
Pablo Reyes
The likelihood of Boston adding one infielder this offseason remains high as they look to solidify their depth and perhaps make a splash at second base. However, the club already has a crowded infield. If they sign one middle infielder, they would likely be forced to move on from another.
Reyes would be removed from the 40-man roster before Trevor Story, Enmanuel Valdez, or David Hamilton. He could have some appeal on the trade market, though, especially after slashing .287/.339/.377 in 2023 with a .317 xwOBA, 7.6 percent walk rate, and 11.4 percent strikeout rate in 2023.
One benefit of trading Reyes is that he could have a wide variety of potential suitors. Although the market for Verdugo is presumably limited to contenders, Reyes would fit on any of the 30 MLB teams. He's versatile and comes cheap enough that even non-contenders would be happy to add someone of his caliber to fill out their roster.
It's worth noting that the Red Sox don't have to rush a Reyes trade. They have three open spots on their 40-man roster, so they wouldn't need to move someone like Reyes until they make at least four more additions. As the other 29 teams come to realize that the crop of free agent infielders is quite barren, a swap involving Reyes could come to fruition.
Nick Pivetta
Red Sox fans aren’t sure what to expect from the front office in regard to their pursuit of pitchers via free agency and trades. There’s no shortage of arms available, but will ownership shell out the money needed to make a couple of key upgrades to the rotation and bullpen?
If Boston does add several arms, they will be forced to create space on the 40-man roster through several tough decisions. While Boston may simply release someone like Joe Jacques or Mauricio Llovera, they could take things a step further by trading Nick Pivetta in exchange for an actual return package. The right-hander expressed frustration with his demotion to the bullpen last season and might be the first player moved when Boston bolsters its rotation this winter.
The one caveat here is that any trade involving Pivetta would most likely happen after the major free agent dominoes start to fall. No team is trading for him unless options like Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell are gone, forcing teams to explore the next tier of pitchers. On a more favorable note, much like Reyes, Pivetta represents a fit for a variety of teams, including those with less favorable playoff odds.
manual