Boston Red Sox: Who on the Roster is a Tradeable Commodity This Offseason?

Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

READY TO MOVE:

• Clay Buchholz, SP
• Rick Porcello, SP
• Ryan Hanigan, C
• Rusney Castillo, OF

These players are the overpaid, underperformers who should still have value to another team. They are not bad players, but they are better served as a piece in a trade for a player with upside.

Is there anyone left who really believes that Clay Buchholz is going to suddenly turn into a reliable top-end starting pitcher? He has reached 170 innings in a season just 3 times in 8 seasons and his one dominant and healthy season was in 2010. His 68 wins over 7 years as a regular in the rotation are underwhelming and his flashes of talent between stretches of inconsistency and injuries aren’t enough.

Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Dave Dombrowski found a sucker for Rick Porcello not long ago (unfortunately it was the Red Sox) and now he has to try and trade Porcello and the insane $20 million per season he is owed going forward. Dombrowski knows who Porcello is and if he is worth the money or not, so his actions this offseason in regards to Porcello should be telling.

Hanigan is simply a defensive backup catcher on a team that can afford almost $4 million for a backup. However, if Christian Vazquez returns healthy after Tommy John surgery there is no need for the luxury of Hanigan and he could be a valuable trade piece.

Castillo is an interesting player as he is not a prospect at age 27, but the price tag of over $10 million per season makes him more of a trade piece than a keeper. Just 5 home runs and 10 doubles and a .647 OPS in half a season in the bigs is not the line of a future star. He may be a fringe starter or fourth outfielder at best and the Red Sox are better off letting another team try to wring production from Castillo.

Next: You Need to Overwhelm with the Offer Players