One of the less glamorous parts of the trade deadline every year is when teams have to clear out roster space to make room for their newcomers, particularly on the 40-man roster. It tends to lead to an additional wave of talent hitting the market by way of waivers or free agency, which can be a nice way to fill any final roster holes that you couldn't agress in a trade.
The Boston Red Sox had to participate in such activity this year, designating reliever Ryan Watson for assignment after announcing the Marcelo Mayer-Erik Miller trade. They also optioned Romy González to Worcester in order to open up room on their active roster.
With their contributions to the talent pool out of the way, might they be able to take something for themselves? The roster looks pretty complete after an aggressive set of moves by Craig Breslow, but additional depth is never a bad thing, especially if it comes in the form of a beloved old friend.
With Taylor Ward joining the team today, the Mariners have released outfielder Rob Refsnyder per MLB sources
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) August 4, 2026
Seattle has also released catcher Mitch Garver. Jhonny Pereda is being recalled from Tacoma. @tlschwerz had this earlier.
Red Sox's most bizarre trade deadline deal may keep them out of Rob Refsnyder's range
Rob Refsnyder is now available to all teams in free agency after the Seattle Mariners released him in the wake of their Taylor Ward trade, and the Red Sox will probably give him a call. Despite an ugly season in Seattle (32 wRC+, -1.0 fWAR), we all know how important of a clubhouse presence he is. If Refsnyder could get back on track against left-handed pitching, there'd probably be a spot for him somewhere in the organization.
The problem is that his primary skillset is now mostly redundant in Boston. Besides González, who also has a history of crushing southpaws, the Red Sox have both Jahmai Jones and Eli White on their active roster. The former has a career 119 wRC+ against lefties and has acquitted himself extremely well in Boston thus far (1.467 OPS).
The bigger roadblock to a Refsnyder reunion is White, whom the team acquired for starting pitching prospect Tyler Uberstine. It was a bizarre deal that further depleted the team's pitching depth and added another body to the outfield logjam, though there is now more flexibility late in games. White is an excellent defender and blazing runner, two skills that Refsnyder no longer provides in his mid-30s.
If Ref would be willing to play on a minor-league contract for the remainder of the season, it wouldn't hurt to bring him back and see if there's any of that old magic still left in his bat. If he's still seeking major-league opportunities, however, odds are he'll have a better chance of finding them elsewhere.
Add us as a preferred source on Google