After opening the offseason with a surprising early trade of Nate Eaton, the Boston Red Sox have continued their attempt to whittle their roster down to 40 players or less. Tsung-Che Cheng was the next man traded.
The Red Sox on October 29 traded Cheng to the Detroit Tigers for cash considerations, first reported by Andrew Parker of SoxProspects. Cheng played 14 games in the major leagues in 2026 and logged 10 hits, including a double, five RBI, 14 strikeouts and four walks. His stint with the Red Sox came during their 32-5 streak in the heat of summer, which he kept alive — Cheng on July 20 took to the air to catch a ninth inning line drive off the bat of Tyler O'Neill to strand two runners and save the winning streak at 14 games.
Cheng batted .241/.345/.390 with 12 doubles, four triples and eight home runs over 94 games for the WooSox. He's a versatile infield defender with experience at second base, third base and shortstop, but he's out of minor league options and it makes little sense for the Sox to hold onto him when they have so much infield depth between Franklin Arias, Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Seigler and others.
The Red Sox have to clear two more 40-man roster spots by November 2 to accommodate the players they have on the 60-day injured list, which is due to close. Craig Breslow has a talent for trading players who are at risk of being designated for assignment to get something in return, so two more moves may be coming.
Red Sox trade Tsung-Che Cheng to Tigers for cash with more roster spot-clearing moves coming
Raymond Burgos, Jovani Morán, Wyatt Olds and Jedixson Paez still have roster spots in Boston. Burgos and Morán could be the next trade candidates, and the latter could be moved in a Cheng-type deal. Morán is out of minor league options and the Red Sox might be hoping for more flexibility with their relievers.
Olds throws strikes well with a 29.4 strikeout percentage during his short time in the big leagues, but his command issues could inspire the Sox to trade him. He has three minor league options, however, so he's one of the less likely trade options. Paez struggled in the majors with two teams this year (10.80 ERA, 1.89 WHIP over 11.2 innings) to the point that Boston may be able to pass him through waivers without another team picking him up.
Breslow has an eye for small trades and more will certainly come by Monday. There is expected to be a surge of activity in November before the impending lockout and the Red Sox will have to shrink their roster even more if they hope to sign any free agents or make any trades to improve the offense.
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