The Boston Red Sox have been surprisingly involved in superstar free agent Juan Soto's market, which has shocked many jaded fans.
But Soto is far from the only outfielder the Red Sox have courted this offseason. Boston has also checked in with 2024 free agency whiff Teoscar Hernández and it's had discussions about a reunion with last season's team home run leader Tyler O'Neill.
MLB insider Jeff Passan recently reported that Soto is at the top of the Red Sox's "want list." They're not among the likeliest teams to sign him, as most experts predict he'll play the rest of his career on one of the two New York teams. Hernández and O'Neill are solid backup plans if Boston fails in its pursuit of the 26-year-old generational talent that is Soto.
The Sox may be setting themselves up to have the same dilemma as last year when they had more outfielders than they knew what to do with. Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Rob Refsnyder, Ceddanne Rafaea, Masataka Yoshida and O'Neill were all in the running for outfield spots last season. On Nov. 4, Boston accepted the club option on Refsnyder's contract to keep him in a Red Sox uniform for one more year. The Sox's outfield remains packed early in the offseason.
Red Sox's link to multiple outfielders reinforces their need to trade a lefty outfielder
Yoshida's defense kept him in the designated hitter slot last season and Trevor Story's long-term injury allowed Rafaela to move to shortstop, which alleviated some of the stress on the outfield alignment. Rafaela will surely be back in the mix for an outfield job if Story can stay healthy all year, though, and Boston's reunion with Refsnyder fills one more spot.
The Toronto Blue Jays have the first meeting this week. The Boston Red Sox are next. Then the New York Mets. And the New York Yankees. The Juan Soto sweepstakes is heating up.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 12, 2024
At ESPN+, my ultimate offseason preview, on Soto and all of MLB free agency: https://t.co/5ZXqtrQUrB
The Red Sox's 2024 lineup was also filled with too many lefties, and although Soto is a lefty, his skills are worth adding to the mix. But too many lefty bats and too many outfielders make Boston's lefty outfielders obvious trade candidates. The team's clear interest in multiple free agent outfielders makes the need for a trade all the more glaring.
Duran and Abreu have great trade value after their 2024 campaigns. Duran posted a 160-game season with 83 extra-base hits, the fourth most in MLB last season. His defense also improved drastically from his previous season's work. Abreu led all rookies in doubles and became the fifth-ever Red Sox right fielder to secure a Gold Glove.
Sox fans have grown to love Duran and Abreu for their quality seasons last year, but all signs point to one of them being traded to make room for one of the many outfielders Boston has been linked to. Duran or Abreu could serve as a headliner of a deal for elite pitching, which the Red Sox also need.
The odds that both lefty outfielders play in a Red Sox uniform next year grow slimmer with every new outfield link to Boston. It isn't clear which player the Red Sox prefer to trade, but the front office has a lot of thinking to do before it makes a decision.