Brandon Glick

Well, that Rafael Devers trade tree continues to expand. At long last, the Boston Red Sox have addressed their glaring need in the infield, adding Caleb Durbin in an out-of-nowhere trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. The full return — Kyle Harrison, David Hamilton, and Shane Drohan — continues to deplete the Red Sox's pitching depth, which has been a key part of their offseason strategy. Expect Payton Tolle and Connelly Early to serve as the next-men-up in case of an injury to the major-league rotation. As for Durbin, the 25-year-old infielder primarily played third base for the Brewers in his rookie campaign, but he's a capable middle infielder and will almost certainly slide over to second upon arriving in Boston. He hit .256/.334/.387 (105 wRC+) with 11 home runs and 18 steals last season. He is a strong defender who is extremely versatile, which is a very Brewers profile. It will be interesting to see how he's deployed by Alex Cora, considering all of the infield depth the Red Sox have. Oh but wait — there's more! Andruw Monasterio is yet another versatile infielder on the 40-man roster being added to the team's coffers. He played at least eight games at each infield position last year and is well-reviewed by all of his teammates and coaches. More than likely, he'll be optioned to Triple-A Worcester considering that Durbin, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Romy Gonzalez, and possibly one of Nate Eaton or Nick Sogard will be on the Opening Day roster, but he just further adds to the versatility the Red Sox have been working on building up. Which is also the case for Anthony Seigler, who is more of a true third baseman (though he does have ample catching experience in the minors). Neither player is revered for their hitting prowess, but the 26-year-old Seigler has crushed minor-league pitching in the past and offers a left-handed bat to the bench mix. This is a lot of team control for the Red Sox to be adding (plus a top-100 draft pick) in exchange for Harrison, Hamilton, and Drohan. Hamilton become exceptionally superfluous on this roster once Kiner-Falefa signed, and both Harrison and Drohan were buried on the depth chart behind Patrick Sandoval, Kutter Crawford, Payton Tolle, and Connelly Early. At the risk of appearing like one of many common fools when their team trades with the Brewers (or Tampa Bay Rays): this appears to be a total fleece job by the Red Sox. Of course, the Brewers are absolutely planning something else. They didn't just trade their entire third base depth chart for pennies on the dollar without some sort of idea of how to upgrade at that spot. But that doesn't affect what Boston got or gave up in this deal. Considering how few options there were to address the need at second base, it's hard to imagine how the front office could have done better. View full article

Between a quartet of quality middle infielders, which option stands out as the best fit for the Boston Red Sox's second base opening in 2026? In the mix are Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Nick Sogard, David Hamilton, and Romy Gonzalez. View full video

Though he shouldn't start at second base, Isiah Kiner-Falefa brings more versatility, speed, and defense to a Boston Red Sox bench brimming with quality depth. View full video

Upon trading David Sandlin to the Chicago White Sox as part of the Jordan Hicks salary dump, Craig Breslow and the Boston Red Sox effectively wiped their hands clean of all of their vaunted pitching depth in the span of about three months. What was once a 40-man roster littered with pitching prospects scratching and clawing to even get some time in Triple-A is now whittled down to a clear-cut starting five and some limited (but impressive) depth, including Patrick Sandoval, Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck, and Kyle Harrison. Alongside Sandlin, the Red Sox have sent the following young arms away in trades this winter: Richard Fitts, Hunter Dobbins, Brandon Clarke, Luis Perales, Blake Aita, and Yhoiker Fajardo. If you can believe it, that's not even an exhaustive list. And, really, this all makes sense when you consider Breslow's background. A 12-year MLB pitcher who won the 2013 World Series with the Red Sox, the current Brezident of baseball operations [I have never been less sorry for a pun] took his first front office role with the Chicago Cubs and Theo Epstein as their Director of Strategic Initiatives for Baseball Operations. That long and unwieldy title meant a lot of things, but chief among his responsibilities was to "support the organization's pitching infrastructure in Player Development and the major leagues." He was soon promoted to the position of Director of Pitching and Special Assistant to the President and General Manager. In other words, he basically took over the Cubs' entire minor league pitching infrastructure. And less than a year later, he was promoted again to Assistant General Manager/Vice President, Pitching. So, yeah, this guy knows a thing or two about pitchers because he's seen a thing or two with pitchers. He's brought that knowledge along with him to Boston, and it's why the team had so many major-league ready or major-league caliber pitchers to deal from. And between Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, they were able to hold onto their best pitching prospects throughout such an extensive period of wheeling-and-dealing. This phenomenon won't be a one-off, either. The Red Sox continue to prioritize pitchers in drafts, including their 2025 class which featured eight hurlers taken within the team's first ten picks. Young, controllable pitchers are the most valuable commodity in baseball, and if Breslow believes he can identify the right talent for the franchise's pitching lab to develop, there will be no shortage of tradeable assets in the future. Perhaps the most telling thing about all of this, though, is that for all their pitching depth and scouting prowess, the Red Sox haven't given their prospects a chance to shine in the majors. They've instead favored established MLB arms, trading for Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, and Johan Oviedo and signing Ranger Suárez in free agency in about a 13-month span. The only homegrown member of the rotation, Brayan Bello, was signed back in 2017 under Dave Dombrowski. Once pitchers like Tolle, Early, and even Kyson Witherspoon establish their big-league bona fides in Boston, that narrative will quiet down. But this strategy of drafting, developing, and trading young pitchers for established MLB talent is an interesting one, lying at the crossroads of Breslow's analytical background and the Sox's big-market tendencies. There's no telling how sustainable it might be, but if it leads to another successful run (or runs) in the postseason, that strategy may just become the standard. View full article

As expected, the Boston Red Sox have done something to add to their infield mix, signing veteran utility man Isiah Kiner-Falefa to a one-year deal. With all due respect to Nate Eaton and Nick Sogard, this is now one of the least inspiring positional battles we've seen in some time. That duo, along with Kiner-Falefa, will compete with incumbent lefty-masher Romy Gonzalez for the starting second base job come Opening Day. It's just a continuation of they keystone carousel the Red Sox have been on since Dustin Pedroia rode off into the sunset, and one that could have been avoided had Kristian Campbell been properly developed in the field. Alas, here we are, with one of that quartet likely to take the majority of reps at second base in 2026. And before anyone suggests Marcelo Mayer sliding back over to the right side of the infield, just know that's not happening. He will be the starting third baseman no matter what — the team made that choice when Alex Bregman walked in free agency. As for Kiner-Falefa himself, the 30-year-old is the platonic ideal of a utility man. Yes, he struggled mightily during the Toronto Blue Jays' playoff run last year to the tune of a .162/.184/.216 line, but he's a solid threat on the basepaths (10+ steals in each of the past five seasons) who can capably play at second, third, and short. There's real value in that kind of profile, even if Kiner-Falefa has never posted a wRC+ above 100 in his career. The immediate reaction to this move will be something along the lines of "that's it?!", which is both a valid take and unfounded worry. Yes, the franchise has failed to replace Bregman with anyone even close to resembling his talents, but that was always a pipe dream. Willson Contreras finally solidified first base, and the designated hitter rotation should be far more potent with Triston Casas competing for at-bats with Jarren Duran. That's not me guaranteeing that another move is on the horizon or that someone will magically emerge from the second base competition as an All-Star contributor, but it is a reminder that reliable depth is also a fundamental part of fielding a winning team. If there is upside to be found at the keystone in Boston, it likely resides in Gonzalez, who simply hammers southpaws (162 wRC+ last season) and is more or less adequate against the far-more-common right-hander (95 wRC+). That still led to a 123 mark for the season, which is more than playable at a position that isn't known for premium defense. With Kiner-Falefa, Eaton, and Sogard now all on the roster, there's more than enough versatility to let Gonzalez focus exclusively on playing second base. And perhaps that was the plan with such a move in the first place. Or maybe this was a bet-hedger, aimed to preserve maximum flexibility in case a lingering trade candidate or free agent floated past Craig Breslow's windshield. Either way, this move registers as understandable when it comes to the bench, though it becomes a bit more stomach-churning if there are designs involving Kiner-Falefa starting on a regular basis. View full article

This is one of the ugliest trade trees in recent memory. Almost hard to believe how poorly (and quickly) that Devers deal is aging.

For the second offseason in a row, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox have made a trade involving a flamethrowing pitcher. Only this time, it's the Red Sox who are subtracting from their roster, sending Jordan Hicks and prospect David Sandlin (plus two PTBNL) to the South Side of the Windy City for Gage Ziehl and a player to be named later. Hicks has been a popular point of discussion around these parts ever since he was acquired in the exceedingly ill-fated Rafael Devers trade with the San Francisco Giants. There were flashes of his old brilliance in Boston, and a profile that was just wanting for some slight tweaking. Alas, an 8.20 ERA and 6.19 FIP were simply too ugly to withstand, and the front office was able to move off the $25 million remaining on his contract. Sandlin is by far the bigger loss from the Sox's perspective. The 24-year-old reached Triple-A for the first time in 2025, logging a 4.50 ERA (3.76 FIP) in 106 innings across the two highest levels of the minor leagues. Like Hicks, we was on the 40-man roster, freeing up two roster spots for the Red Sox to use. His departure marks yet another young starting pitcher traded by the organization this winter, joining the likes of Luis Perales, Yhoiker Fajardo, Hunter Dobbins, Blake Aita, Brandon Clarke, Richard Fitts. The front office has done an excellent job building up depth at the position, and they continue to focus their scouting and drafting efforts on pitchers. They have more than enough talent to withstand those losses, but it's interesting to see that after years of building up their pitching depth, they've had no qualms knocking it down. Ziehl is the only named part of the return, but he's certainly an intriguing arm to add to the farm system. A fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft by the New York Yankees, the 22-year-old right-hander pitched to a 3.39 FIP in 107.0 innings between them and the Pale Hose last season. With an impressive slider and some excellent command (4.2% walk rate), he's got a high floor as a starter and should eventually replace Sandlin's position within the organization once he ascends to the upper minors. Beyond the roster spots and money saved, perhaps the biggest implication of this deal is what it means for Kyle Harrison. Thanks to all of the other offseason trades, he's now one of the most important depth pieces on the 40-man roster, and because Hicks and James Tibbs III (traded in the ill-advised Dustin May deal) are already out of the organization, pressure will mount and ratchet up for the 24-year-old southpaw to live up to his former top prospect billing. Barring a big developmental leap for Jose Bello, the Red Sox's only hope of extracting value from the Devers trade lies in Harrison. Considering that they salary-dumped Devers just to have to salary dump Hicks less than a year later, this already feels like a huge whiff by Craig Breslow and the front office. It's not Harrison's fault that he is now the ostensible centerpiece of that deal, but if he also doesn't pan out... yikes. The other primary question is how the Sox will fill Hicks' vacated spot in the bullpen. Another power arm would be helpful, as would an additional southpaw. Free-agent options are scarce, and the trade market will require a king's ransom for anyone who fits both of those qualifiers. Perhaps a transition to the 'pen for Harrison could help the team assuage both concerns in one go. Hicks was almost certainly never going to pan out in Boston, and trading him (even at the price of surrendering Sandlin) was the right way to move on. There's now more money to spend on players and free roster spots with which to add said players. The Devers trade tree is looking uglier and uglier by the day, but it's important that the front office didn't give into the sunk cost fallacy and try to stubbornly resurrect Hicks' career out of pride. The team should be slightly better for this move in 2026, even if it's also fair to say they would've been significantly better if Devers was still around. View full article

Right off the bat, I'll note that the player I'm focusing on in this piece isn't necessarily available. He hasn't been mentioned in many (if any) trade rumors, and it'd be a miracle to pry him loose from the Cleveland Guardians. But can you blame me for having to dig a little deeper here? The second base market is completely dry in free agency (Jose Iglesias is the top option remaining), Ketel Marte has been taken off the block, Nico Hoerner and Brendan Donovan are going to cost a fortune in a trade and don't have much team control remaining, and the Boston Red Sox's internal options are better suited for other positions (Marcelo Mayer), roles (Romy Gonzalez), or need more time to develop altogether (Mikey Romero, Franklin Arias). Insofar as an external upgrade at second base is coming, prepare to be uninspired by Craig Breslow's choice. Unless, of course, he gets really creative. I'm talking A.J. Preller levels of daring, which is completely antithetical and perhaps a polar opposite to the way Breslow operates. The reasons to do something like this are already limited, and they shrink even further if you believe the Red Sox can pair Gonzalez with an able-bodied platoon partner at the keystone. And so, with all that hedging out of the way: Let's trade for Travis Bazzana. Seriously. The Red Sox should trade for the No. 1 overall pick from the 2024 MLB Draft. Of course, such a trade would be easier said than done. He's a 23-year-old middle infielder who ascended to Triple-A in his first full professional season while working a 137 wRC+ and 17.6% walk rate. The Guardians ranked 28th in scoring in 2025 and desperately need a bat of his caliber to upgrade the lineup. For more on Bazzana, take this analysis on his prospect profile from Baseball Savant: Suffice it to say, he's got the goods. But, like all prospects, he's not without his flaws. Injury issues have plagued him since college, including a lingering oblique injury that landed him on the injured list twice and limited him to just 84 games in 2025. He also started to display some worrying strikeout tendencies as he climbed the minor-league ladder, finishing the season with a 24.3% punch-out rate. There's enough additive concerns that he's been falling down some top prospect lists, with The Athletic's Keith Law even going so far as to suggest that Bazzana "may not be the impact player [the Guardians] expected" when they drafted him. Are those yellow flags enough to loosen Cleveland's grip on him? Maybe. The Guardians have done literally nothing this offseason to add to their offense (which, again, ranked 28th in runs scored last year). Their most-important contributor by a country mile, José Ramirez, will be playing out his age-33 season in 2026. And the team is already banking a lot of their hopes on the continued development of 25-year-old Kyle Manzardo and top prospect Chase DeLauter. There may not be a huge appetite to rely on yet another unproven youngster in Bazzana if an MLB-proven contributor presents themselves as an alternative. And that's where the Red Sox come in. The Guardians' outfield is currently comprised of Steven Kwan, George Valera, and DeLauter, but their designated hitter spot is wide open, and none of those players are quite the offensive threats that Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu are when they're on. Could one of those two (plus perhaps a veteran pitcher like Patrick Sandoval or Kutter Crawford) stir up some conversations in Cleveland? The Guardians are a win-now team — they've won three of the past four AL Central titles — as are the Red Sox. They aren't traditional trade partners by any means. A lot of concessions would need to be made by both sides in order to strike a deal of this magnitude. The Red Sox would need to accept more risk than they have in all of their other offseason trades combined, and the Guardians would need to accept the optics of punting on a No. 1 overall pick less than two years after taking him. There are serious long-term downsides for both franchises present in this deal. But when you have a wide-open roster hole at second base and your best option to fill it is 36-year-old Jose Iglesias, risk becomes inherent in seeking upgrades. Few options are as risky as Travis Bazzana, but none of them present nearly as much upside. View full article

The Boston Red Sox's rotation has changed dramatically since the end of the 2024 season. Brayan Bello is the only holdover (though Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford are still on the roster), with Garrett Crochet and three 2025-26 offseason acquisitions currently penciled into the starting five. That's a far different picture than the one Patrick Sandoval signed up for last winter, but you have to play the hand you're dealt. The longtime Los Angeles Angels pitcher joined a long list of rehabbing pitchers to ink a two-year deal with Craig Breslow. Like most others, Sandoval was expected to miss most of the first season of his contract before returning to the Red Sox as a rotation option in 2026. That he wound up missing all of last year after an internal brace surgery on his throwing elbow in June 2024 doesn't really matter; the value on his $18.25 million contract was also going to be derived in the second season. Hence, the team backloaded his salary, paying him just $5.5 million as he recovered and nearly $13 million this year now that he's expected to return. The idea is solid enough in theory. It was the same practice Breslow took with Lucas Giolito, who missed all of 2024 before delivering a strong campaign as the team's No. 3 starter in 2025. And the problem here isn't Sandoval himself — he's got the talent to succeed in a starting rotation at the major-league level. From 2021-22, Sandoval covered 235 2/3 innings for the Halos, earning 5.3 bWAR on the back of a 3.17 ERA and 3.44 FIP. Opposing batters mustered just a .653 OPS against him, as he excelled at limiting hard contact (34.7% hard-hit rate) and generating ground balls (48% ground-ball rate). He tunneled his three primary pitches (a change-up, fastball, and sinker) beautifully, and save for a less-than-stellar 9.6% walk rate, he was above average in nearly every Statcast metric. Things changed in 2023 when his newfound slider betrayed his various fastballs. He was still excellent at managing contact quality and forcing batters to pound the ball into the dirt, but he lost his ability to get key whiffs and chases when he needed them. More balls in plays led to worse results, and then his injury in 2024 practically sapped him of all his effectiveness on the mound. If he returns to health and plays around with his pitch mix, there's no reason why he couldn't be a capable back-end starter going forward, especially since he's only 29 years old. The issue facing both pitcher and team is that there's not really any room left on the roster for the southpaw. Crochet, Bello, Ranger Suárez, Sonny Gray, and Johan Oviedo are going to be the starting five come Opening Day barring an injury. There's been too many resources invested in each pitcher (and too much upside in each of their respective arms) for this to go another way. There won't be a spring training battle for the No. 5 job. The group is locked in. So, what about a next-man-up role? It's a lot of money to spend on a swingman and spot starter, but Sandoval has made seven career relief appearances, allowing a 4.18 ERA. The bullpen needs southpaws, and left-handed hitters have an OPS of just .598 against him (compared to .734 for righties). As a means of stashing him until an inevitable need in the rotation arises, that wouldn't be the worst idea in the world, right? In a technical sense, it wouldn't be a bad idea. If he took to making multi-inning relief appearances, Sandoval could even earn his keep as a bulk reliever. But that also fills a role that the team may be eyeing for Kutter Crawford... or Payton Tolle, Kyle Harrison, Connelly Early, Ryan Watson, or David Sandlin. Sandoval technically has the advantage over all those players (besides Watson, a Rule 5 draft pick) because he has no option years remaining, but Crawford won't be pitching in the minor leagues unless it's on a rehab assignment. And while he may be good as a leverage reliever, that wouldn't be the best use of Sandoval's talents (or salary). He isn't a hard thrower nor a strikeout maven. His profile is well suited for facing a lineup multiple times at the start of games. So, the bulk role it is... assuming he's still on the Red Sox come Opening Day. Exploring a trade is another possibility, albeit one with practically no known quantities besides the money involved. A ton of teams still need starting pitching depth, and practically no one left on the market outside of Framber Valdez or Zac Gallen has Sandoval's upside. Both of those pitchers would also be significantly more expensive to sign than the $12.75 million owed to the latter, though Valdez and Gallen have track records of far more recent success and don't have the terrifying injury history that Sandoval does. Would a team really be desperate enough to take on practically all of Sandoval's remaining contract in a trade? A release/DFA is off the table, so that's the lone route that could get him shipped out of Boston this year. It sounds and feels unlikely on the cusp of February, but if the veteran southpaw comes out flat in spring training and clearly cedes work to Crawford, Watson, Harrison, or one of the team's top pitching prospects, it's a route the Red Sox will have to explore. View full article

This isn't our usual type of note or rumor, but as the managing editor of the site, this is perhaps the most important thing I can share with this community. Our very own @Maddie Landis has been nominated as a SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) Award Finalist! Her piece on Vertical Approach Angle was very positively received on the site, and we knew right away that it was a special piece of analysis. It thrills me to see Maddie's name alongside revered writers and sites like The Athletic, FanGraphs, and Baseball Prospectus. If you haven't checked out the piece yet, I encourage you to do so. It's the kind of article that makes you smarter just by reading it, and it'll enhance your appreciation of pitcher analysis by many magnitudes. You can see the full list of SABR Award Finalists here. View full rumor

This piece was just nominated for a SABR award!! Congrats to Maddie! https://sabr.org/latest/announcing-finalists-for-2026-sabr-analytics-conference-research-awards/

Still in need of a starting second baseman, will the Boston Red Sox be able to find an apt replacement for Alex Bregman in free agency or via trade before Opening Day? View full video

Thanks for catching that — the linking should be sorted. We have an automatic tool that links to everyone's B-R page, and for some reason the "other" Hayden Mullins is the default. Hopefully that won't be the case for long.

With two ace southpaws atop their rotation, will the Boston Red Sox field the best pitching staff in baseball in 2026? Their rotation looks fierce with Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suarez, Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello, Connelly Early, and Payton Tolle in the mix. View full video