The Boston Red Sox first month or so of the 2022 season has been, well, horrible. Rather than competing for the top spot in the American League East with the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays, they are currently battling with the Baltimore Orioles to stay out of last place.
It’s still early, but Boston is running out of time to save their season. And if the results don’t turnaround soon, they could end up shipping off some of their star players midway through the season. Here are three such players who could become trade targets for other teams if Boston continues to lose and decides to become a seller.
Boston Red Sox player who may get traded No. 3: J.D. Martinez
J.D. Martinez decided to opt into the final year of his contract with the Red Sox, and so far he’s been one of the only things keeping their offense afloat. So far this season, Martinez is batting .333 with five homers and 19 runs batted in. Not bad for a guy who will turn 35 later this season.
Martinez is set to be a free agent after the season ends, and Boston simply may not need him after this year. Given how this season has gone so far, there could be a large scale rebuild on-hand starting this upcoming offseason, and bringing back the aging Martinez, who really cannot play in the field, just doesn’t fit that course of action.
If the Sox continue to lose throughout the season, it may be best for them to try to dump Martinez off to a contender for a prospect or two. Martinez has said he wants to finish his career in Boston, but with the way things have been trending recently, that may not be plausible.
With the designated hitter rule being implemented throughout the league now rather than just the American League, there would most likely be a bit more of a market for Martinez than there would have been before.
Boston has other options to fill in at DH, and could eventually shift Rafael Devers there, so if that’s the plan, there’s no sense holding onto Martinez to play through a losing season. Trading Martinez if Boston is still towards the bottom of the AL East at the end of July would be the best course of action, even if the team doesn’t want to undergo a full scale rebuild.
Boston Red Sox player who may get traded No. 2: Nathan Eovaldi
After last night’s putrid outing, in which Nathan Eovaldi only lasted 1.2 innings while giving up nine runs (six earned) and five home runs in just one inning, it may not seem like there would be much of a market for his services. Rest assured, Red Sox nation, it was an outlier from Eovaldi, albeit an ugly one for sure.
Prior to his meltdown last night, Eovaldi’s ERA on the season had been 3.15, and while it may sit a full run higher now at 4.32, Eovaldi is still a bonafide ace who could be a tremendous help to any starting rotation in the league, assuming he can stay healthy.
A more accurate representation of how good Eovaldi is came last season in 2021, when he finished with an 11-9 record, a 3.75 ERA, and 195 strikeouts. Those numbers earned him his first ever All-Star appearence, and a fourth place finish in the American League Cy Young race. Eovaldi had huge shoes to fill in Chris Sale‘s absence, and he stepped up admirably.
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But similar to Martinez, Eovaldi’s contract is up at the end of the season, and if the team proves to be unable to win baseball games, they may be better off trading him for prospects while they can. Assuming Eovaldi can continue to pitch well over the next two months, he could have some significant value considering how high his ceiling is.
Eovaldi is a top of the line starting pitcher who could instantly turn any playoff team into a legitimate World Series contender. He’s still just 32, and assuming he can continue to stay healthy, he should be able to keep pitching at a high level for the next few years. If Boston wants to blow up their roster, it makes sense to unload Eovaldi for some prospects.
Boston Red Sox player who may get traded No. 1: Xander Bogaerts
Xander Bogaerts is the big one. Bogaerts, who has made it well known he will be opting out his deal after the end of the season, and will be looking for a new one this upcoming offseason, could very well end up being traded before the offseason arrives.
Tense negotiations between the Sox and Bogaerts failed to get anywhere during Spring Training, making it seem unlikely a deal will be reached at all. Bogaerts initially said he wasn’t open to neogtiating a new deal during the season, although he appears to have backed off that stance a bit. Bogaerts wants to stay in Boston, but it remains to be seen whether they are willing to pay him what he wants.
That whole discussion may become irrelevant if Boston keeps losing. If they decide their negotiations with Bogaerts are going nowhere, they could decide to move him before he would potentially leave for nothing in free agency. Remember, the Sox have Trevor Story locked up to a long-term deal now, so that plays an important part in this equation too.
Trading Bogaerts would be an extremely aggressive move from the front office, and they would almost certainly have to be 100 percent positive that they wouldn’t be reaching an extension with him if they were to move him. Whether or not they actually have negotiations during the season remains to be seen, but the tenor from the talks during the spring weren’t encouraging.
Bogaerts would have to net a massive return as well, considering he’s not even 30 yet and has shown virtually no signs of decline. He’s still a bit inconsistent in the field, but he’s one of the best hitters in the league. It would be a shame to see Bogaerts play somewhere other than Boston, but if it has to happen, it would better to recoup some value while you can, and that may lead to a midseason trade of Bogaerts.