If the Red Sox Become Sellers, Expect These Players to Be Discussed in Trade Talks

As of this writing now, the Boston Red Sox have a 40-43 record. That’s good for fourth in the AL East, where they are eight games out of first place and three games back of the final AL Wild Card position. During the press conference after the Rafael Devers trade, President of Baseball Operations Craig Breslow confirmed the team was still planning to be buyers as the trade deadline approaches, and his opinion hasn’t changed, as he confirmed on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show on Thursday. Even though fans may not want to, it’s best to take him at his word.

The flip side here is the team just got swept by the Angels and should this downward trend continue over the next few series, the team could ultimately decide to be sellers at the deadline instead. The good news here is that there are major league pieces that would command a great return to help put the team in a better position for 2026 and beyond. Let’s take a look at those ten names, their contract status, and what the team could hope to get back in return for them.

• Jarren Duran, OF
  • Jarren Duran isn’t having the season anyone hoped he would, and I’ve already written about how a change of scenery would likely do him wonders. He’s currently slashing .254/.307/.404 and his contract has him signed for one-year/$3.85m with a club option for 2026. While Duran alone won’t land the Red Sox a controllable starter, packaging him with prospects not named Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer should get the Red Sox another front-line starter to slot in behind Garrett Crochet.
• Aroldis Chapman, LHP
  • I’ve also already written a bit about how Aroldis Chapman would be a prime trade target for teams in the playoff hunt should the Red Sox decide to sell. He’s experiencing a career resurgence this year and has commanded large trade packages in the past. He’s one a one-year/$10.75M deal, so he would be relatively cheap for a team looking to bring him into the fold. He would likely get a mid to back-end starter in return.
• Wilyer Abreu, OF
  • I’ve included Abreu here even though I don’t really see the Red Sox trading him now, even after they attempted to during the offseason. He’s slashing .252/.324/.465 and carries the pedigree of winning a Gold Glove in right field after his rookie season. He’s making $780K and isn’t eligible for arbitration until 2027. Like Duran above, he wouldn’t command a front-line starter on his own, but in a package with prospects we’d be looking at a similar, although possibly lesser, return in a mid-tier starter. 
• Walker Buehler, RHP
  • I’ll admit, it’s almost funny to include Buehler on this list since he’s been abysmal after returning from injury, but there will be a handful of teams interested in bringing him into the fold solely based on his previous championship experience and how he’s performed in the postseason. He’s on a one-year/$21.05M contract that will be more than halfway paid by the deadline. In a trade, he could be worth at least three buckets of balls, right? In all seriousness, a trade of Buehler wouldn’t net the Red Sox much more than a low-floor, high-ceiling prospect. 
• Justin Wilson, LHP
  • Wilson is quietly having a great season for the Red Sox. He’s been the second-most dependable left-handed pitcher in the bullpen behind Chapman. His contract is incredibly team-friendly at one-year/$2.25M. He would be able to be flipped pretty easily and would likely return a prospect somewhere just outside of the top-100 with some upside.
• Alex Bregman, 3B
  • With the news that Bregman likely won’t return from his quad injury until after the All-Star break, I believe that the third baseman is the least likely person (on this list) to be moved this season. In fact, I just wrote about how the Red Sox should extend him since he’s open to it. Right now, Bregman is on a three-year/$120M contract with opt-outs after each season. Should the team make him available, there will be a line of teams wanting to acquire his services. That would drive his price up considerably and likely net the Red Sox some valuable major league-ready talent.  
• Lucas Giolito, RHP
  • Giolito has had a very up-and-down season so far, but he has put a string of three solid starts together as of this writing. He seems to be trusting his fastball again, and even though it’s not playing up like it used to, he’s seeing success. He’s in the last year of a two-year/$38.5M deal with a mutual option that turns into a club option if he pitches less than 140 innings this season. He wouldn’t command a huge return, likely some low-level prospects, but he would get the team some talent that would restock the farm system after the Big Three graduate.
• Rob Refsnyder, OF
  • Rob Refsnyder, the lefty killer. He is performing well again this season and has been a solid contributor for the team. He’s moved into a platoon DH role after the Devers trade, but should move back to the fourth/fifth outfielder position once Masataka Yoshida is with the big league club. He’s on the last year of a two-year contract and will become a free agent once the season ends. He contemplated retirement before the 2025 season, so it’s possible he looks into it again. If the team did decide to trade Refsnyder, he wouldn’t command a huge return either. A playoff team would likely be interested in his services thanks to his southpaw-mashing abilities, though, and should multiple teams get involved, a high-ceiling prospect isn’t out of the question here. 
• Romy Gonzalez, UTIL
  • It’s crazy to think that Gonzalez went from being DFA’d by the White Sox to a possible trade candidate for a team in the postseason hunt. He’s performed quite well in a platoon at first base with Abraham Toro since the injury to Triston Casas. He’s slashing .294/.342/.471 on the season and, like Refsnyder above, could have multiple teams interested in bringing him into the fold to come off the bench against left-handed relievers late in games. A bidding war for his services would drive his price even higher than Refsnyder’s.
• Abraham Toro, UTIL
  • This will sound similar to the Gonzalez section above since they are platoon partners, but Toro has looked great in that role at first base. He’s cooled off quite a bit in recent weeks, but there is still value here. Currently signed to a one-year/$801.1K deal, he’s extremely cheap and would be easy to flip for lower level prospects.
• Masataka Yoshida, OF/DH
  • It’s no secret that the Red Sox have been chomping at the bit to trade Yoshida since Breslow took over as the President of Baseball Operations. So far, they’ve been unsuccessful. With reports coming that he will rejoin the team in July and be in a platoon DH role with Refsnyder, that could drum up a bit of interest in him. He’s in the third year of his five-year/$90M contract and the Red Sox will likely have to eat some of that money to get him traded. If they are willing to take on a significant portion of it, they could turn him into someone who could compete on the major league team this year. Still, if there is a Yoshida trade, I'd expect it to take place over the offseason once the Japanese slugger rehabilitates some of his value in the second half.
• David Hamilton, UTIL
  • David Hamilton is currently starting at second base for the Boston Red Sox, for now. There’s not a ton of value here at all. He’s on a one-year/$780K contract and becomes arbitration eligible in 2027. Trading Hamilton really only takes away a pinch runner once Marcelo Mayer shifts to second base when Alex Bregman is healthy, and the team can afford to lose him. He won’t be the centerpiece of any deal that gets done. He more than likely will be an additional part added to help salaries and roster numbers match up, but as part of a larger deal, he could be moved for something significant.

What do you think? Do you have other names you’d like to see the team shop if they go into sell mode? Comment below and let’s discuss!