Four Position Players Red Sox Could Target In Trades This Offseason

All signs point to the Red Sox spending significant money this offseason amid reports and Boston’s chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom promising to be better in 2023.

There are a lot of question marks surrounding the Red Sox this offseason, with the biggest one being the future of Xander Bogaerts. If he does indeed leave, there are other viable shortstop options on the market.

But Boston also can make trades on top of signing free agents to fill holes in its lineup.

Here are four position players the Red Sox could target via trade this offseason.

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Sean Murphy, Oakland Athletics
Even though Bloom told reporters he’d be fine going into the 2023 season with Reese McGuire and Connor Wong, he also noted he would explore options. One of those options could be Murphy, who’s under contract through 2025.

The right-handed batter finished 2022 batting .250 with 18 home runs and 66 RBIs in 148 games for Oakland.

It won’t be an easy task to acquire the 2021 Gold Glove winner, though. The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier wrote in a piece published over the weekend that the A’s wanted Brayan Bello as part of the package when the Red Sox expressed interest last year, and that it’s “it’s hard to see the Sox putting together a package given that Bello borders on untradeable.”

The Red Sox also need help in the pitching department, and losing Bello certainly doesn’t make the Red Sox’s rotation stronger and only leaves another hole to fill. Still, it’s always worth inquiring about a player who could help your team.

Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates
The Red Sox need help in the outfield and Reynolds, like Murphy, also is under contract through the 2025 season. A year removed from being a 2021 National League All-Star, Reynolds finished 2022 batting .262 with 27 home runs and 62 RBIs. The switch-hitter has been rather consistent offensively and even though last year wasn’t as strong as 2021, Reynolds’ 27 home runs would be a welcome addition to the Red Sox considering Alex Verdugo was the only Boston outfielder to reach double-digits in round-trippers.

It’s also worth noting Reynolds has played every outfield position. He’s spent most of his time in the majors playing center field, but there is some versatility there.

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Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
If the Red Sox do indeed want to make their team better than 2022, it probably would be a safer bet to get an established player rather than a prospect like Carroll. Still, the outfielder was successful in his 32 games with the D-Backs batting .260 with 14 RBIs. Despite the small sample size, Carroll has given the Diamondbacks, and other teams potentially interested in his services for that matter, reason to believe he will be a serviceable outfielder in Major League Baseball.

Carroll is the No. 1 prospect in the Diamondbacks system and scouts are generally high on him, noting Carroll “Carroll looked advanced during his pro debut, posting a .299 average with an .896 OPS and 18 steals while reaching Class A Short-Season Hillsboro. He was even more impressive at Arizona’s alternate training site in 2020, standing out against much more advanced competition in the uniquely competitive environment,” per MLB.com.

He’s also speedy on the base path and poses a threat to steal any time he’s on.

Justin Foscue, Texas Rangers
Foscue has yet to play a game in MLB, and he is a prospect, but if Bogaerts indeed leaves in free agency then the Red Sox will need to fill some holes in the infield. They could slide Trevor Story over to shortstop and move Kiké Hernández back to his natural second base position, but the success he had in the outfield probably keeps Boston inclined to keep him out there. Bloom did tell reporters that reports of the Red Sox having a “plan B” should Bogaerts sign elsewhere was “overblown,” it wouldn’t hurt for Boston to check in the 2020 14th overall pick — especially with the Rangers having a logjam in their infield that essentially would block Foscue from seeing time in Texas.