Boston Red Sox rumors: Breaking down the 2018 Winter Meetings buzz

Weeks after celebrating a World Series championship, the Boston Red Sox enter the 2018 Winter Meetings with some serious buzz surrounding the 2019 team.

Would the Boston Red Sox really trade Xander Bogaerts? The Diamondbacks want Jackie Bradley Jr… or not. Who will the closer be if Craig Kimbrel leaves for greener pastures?

Let’s break down some of the latest Red Sox rumors from the annual Winter Meetings.

A lot of virtual ink gets spilled during baseball’s annual Winter Meetings as writers jockey for big scoops on trades and free agent signings. The Boston Red Sox, in spite of being World Series champs and with a relatively settled roster, are not exempt from the speculation. So let’s dive in and break down some of the more interesting Red Sox news coming out of Vegas this week.

Trio on the Trading Block?

Bob Nightengale recently tweeted the Red Sox are “openly listening to offers” on Rick Porcello, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr.

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Porcello isn’t a huge surprise given his price tag and the fact he’s only signed through next season. With Chris Sale, David Price, Eduardo Rodriguez and now Nathan Eovaldi comprising the rest of a formidable rotation, perhaps the Red Sox believe Brian Johnson or Steven Wright are acceptable enough 5th starters and the money earmarked for Porcello would be better spent elsewhere.

Bradley Jr. was thought to be on the move just last off-season. But with a shiny new Gold Glove and plate skills that vacillate from All-Star to oh no, the 28-year-old would make a lot of sense for any team that values his up-the-middle defense and can live with his streaky bat. You know, kind of like the Red Sox.

A trade including Bogaerts would probably be the most surprising, though he too has previously found himself the subject of trade rumors. Though given his age – he’s still just 26 – impressive two-way talent (since becoming a regular in 2014, Bogaerts trails only Manny Machado, Francisco Lindor and Andrelton Simmons in total fWAR among fellow SS) and employment of Scott Boras all conspiring to push him past $25 million in annual salary after next season, shopping Bogaerts now makes sound financial, if not baseball, sense.

Ultimately, given the Red Sox designs on a repeat, I don’t expect any of these three to be traded unless the return both saves the team significant cash without compromising their overall talent.

Now if the Diamondbacks are willing to put, say, Ketel Marte or Archie Bradley on the table as part of a Bradley deal, I could see Dombrowski considering it. Bogaerts might net an interesting return from the Padres or Twins, two teams seemingly interested in kick-starting contention with the ability and willingness to pay to keep Bogaerts around long-term. But with similarly average to above-average starters still available in free agency (Dallas Keuchel, J.A. Happ, Charlie Morton, Lance Lynn etc), it would be surprising to see any team give up something of substance for one year of Porcello.

Still, with Chris Sale, Mookie Betts and, likely, J.D. Martinez all lining up for bigger paydays in the near future, the Red Sox will need to shed some salaries to avoid increasingly onerous luxury tax penalties. That said, Dombrowski recently said the team isn’t looking to cut payroll so, for 2019 at least, Red Sox fans are still more likely than not to see Porcello, Bogaerts and Bradley taking the field for the home team.

He’s the Closer?

In a situation that brings to mind the Red Sox ill-fated “He’s the Ace” rotation, the bullpen is currently lacking clear, endgame options for the first time since Craig Kimbrel’s arrived on the scene three seasons ago. Given the Red Sox payroll situation, it’s obvious why the team hasn’t eagerly opened its checkbook to pay Kimbrel. But with Joe Kelly also likely to depart, are the Red Sox really fixing to close out games with some combination of, gulp, Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier and Tyler Thornburg?

No. At least, probably not. Barnes was better last season than you might remember, posting a career best 14.0 K/9, but has just two big league saves to his credit. Brasier was a real revelation in 2018, but it would be foolish to hand the closer’s mantle to a 30-year-old pitcher with just seven appearances in the majors prior to his ascension last year. Thornburg has the most career saves among them – with a whopping 13 – but his 5.63 ERA (not to mention his 6.04 FIP) illustrate he still has a ways to go in his recovery from surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.

Barnes and Brasier are both likely to play key setup roles in 2019 and, depending on their continued performance in high leverage situations, could conceivably work their way into save opportunities as the season progresses. But they won’t likely be relied upon as the closer out of the gate.