Alex Cora and the Boston Red Sox have done a decent job handling playing time for Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Roman Anthony so far.
Cora has used the vacant designated hitter spot and lefty/righty matchups to get their four young outfielders consistent at-bats. However, Masataka Yoshida is returning and figures to see more time at DH than in the outfield. That’s a lot of mouths to feed, without even considering Rob Refsnyder’s role.
With so many outfielders, Duran and Abreu have been hot names in trade rumors. However, according to the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, the team is not believed to be shopping either player.
While the Sox aren’t believed to be shopping either player, multiple sources around the league described both as available, with the Sox willing to at least listen to offers on either player,” wrote Speier.
The team’s decision not to actively shop either player could backfire if their value drops and they try to swing a trade in the offseason. However, those two are the only realistic options to be dealt from the group.
Anthony is the game’s top prospect and has the potential to become a superstar. Rafaela has already signed an extension to stay in Boston. Duran and Abreu have multiple years of club control and have upside. Duran was an All-Star last season and Abreu was a Gold Glove Award winner. While the team has decided not to actively shop them, Breslow spoke on the potential to improve their team.
“You can think about this as five guys for four spots, four guys for three spots. But when you do, when you play that out, you can say, ‘Hey, each guy can get 75 percent, 80 percent of the at-bats. That’s a pretty full season,'” said Breslow, per Speier. “There are a number of ways that this can go (while keeping all of the outfielders on the roster) — but we’re also going to explore what opportunities exist out there, and if there’s a chance to make this team better in the short term and the long term, then we have to be open to it.”
Breslow and Cora have both talked about how the surplus of talented outfielders is a good thing. The team will try to use all of their young players to their advantage, but it appears that they will listen to incoming offers.