With the Texas Rangers interested in trading Corey Seager at the GM Meetings (per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal), the Boston Red Sox have emerged in the discourse as a possible landing spot (as have the New York Yankees). Boston has been linked to Seager before, and it's notable that Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow hasn't publicly committed to Trevor Story as the club's everyday shortstop in 2027.
In name and reputation, switching out Story for Seager might sound like a clear upgrade, but it's not. First of all, Story has 10-5 rights; moving him wouldn't be a piece of cake.
But the stronger element for avoiding a Seager trade lies with Seager himself, who's been just as injury-prone as Story and is far more expensive. The 33-year-old Seager, owed roughly $155 million over the next five seasons, has undergone surgery in three consecutive offseasons -- most recently to remove a bone spur from his right elbow. Last season, he hit .227/.312/.424 with 20 home runs in 102 games -- respectable, for sure, but nothing close to his peak seasons.
Red Sox shouldn't consider trading for Rangers shortstop Corey Seager
Seager's dealt with a plethora of injuries in recent years, all over his body: thumb, hip, hamstring, and back issues have caused him to miss a massive amount of games. To acknowledge that he's no longer the player who earned his current contract isn't disrespectful; it's just pointing out the reality of the situation.
As such, the redundancy of swapping out one aging, injury-prone shortstop for another doesn't make sense for the Red Sox. Boston no doubt regrets betting on Story with a big deal ... why double down on that mistake by taking on big money with Seager? Does Seager have the type of rare talent that could result in a comeback season at some point? Of course. But you don't want to bank on expensive question marks if you're Breslow and have a roster that is among the best in the league. You should be adding sure things to the team.
There's also Franklin Arias waiting in the wings to play shortstop for the Red Sox. And if the bridge from Story to Arias gets interrupted by another Story injury, Boston can use internal stopgaps at short as they did in 2026 with Andruw Monasterio and Nick Sogard.
Bringing aboard Seager would clog Arias' runway. If you're going to trade the young shortstop, the calculus changes a tad, but it's still a weird fit with Story having been the team's high-paid infielder over the past few years.
Ultimately, a Seager trade would mean taking on a big contract, and those fiscal resources would be better used elsewhere, perhaps to add multiple depth pieces. Seager is slightly tempting, but the Red Sox don't need him. They should remember the relief they felt in not trading for him last offseason.
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