3 Red Sox Craig Breslow Should Trade After Hiring
By Tyler Maher
As the Boston Red Sox's new Chief Baseball Officer, Craig Breslow has a bit of a mess to clean up. While his predecessor Chaim Bloom left him a strong farm system and some up-and-coming young players, the MLB roster itself still needs some serious work coming off a second straight last-place finish.
One way for Breslow to start fixing it is by trading away players who aren't a good fit or who could bring back more useful pieces for 2024.
With that in mind, here are three Red Sox players that Breslow should trade this offseason.
3 Red Sox Trade Candidates
1. Alex Verdugo
We've written ad nauseam about how Alex Verdugo needs to be traded this winter, and we'll continue to do so until it actually happens. There are plenty of good reasons to move on from Verdugo this offseason, making him Boston's most obvious trade candidate.
For starters, Verdugo is going to be a free agent next year. The Red Sox haven't expressed much interest in bringing him back, which is obviously disappointing considering that he was the main return in the Mookie Betts trade.
Still, Verdugo's contract status makes him a prime trade candidate. This offseason is the best time to move him and get decent value for him, rather than waiting until the trade deadline or losing him for nothing in free agency.
The other reasons have to do with Verdugo himself, both on the field and off.
On the field, his production has been nothing special. He's a career .281/.337/.428 hitter (105 OPS+) and his OPS has been well below .800 in three straight seasons. His defense and baserunning are erratic. He has a pretty high floor but as a solid everyday player but lacks an All-Star ceiling.
Boston would surely have more interest in bringing him back if he wasn't such a basket case off the field. Verdugo has caused a lot of headaches for manager Alex Cora over the last few years, including being out of shape, not always hustling and showing up late to the ballpark on occasion despite Cora's repeated warnings and benchings.
Verdugo's had plenty of chances to get his act together and is easily replaceable, so Breslow should have no problem dealing him. Cora will certainly be grateful.