Where do the Red Sox go from here?

By Luke Fitzpatrick (@_lfitz15)

The Red Sox are 3-7 since Rafael Devers was traded. Just about everything that’s needed to be said has been said. Nobody involved with the situation, including and, perhaps especially, Devers, demonstrated model character or problem solving. But this is about the future - onwards. 

If the Red Sox internally are growing apart from Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow, like many reports have suggested, and choose to part ways, they may not have many options for a successor. Dave Dombrowski was fired less than a year after the winningest season in the franchise’s history that concluded with a dominant playoff run and a World Series title; Chaim Bloom was fired within four years, and Breslow is in just year two of his executive role. During Boston’s hiring process in the Fall of 2023, they were barely able to convince any qualified candidates to consider taking the job. If they fire Breslow after just two seasons, the organization’s reputation regarding the expendability of their executives will only be worsened. 

Needless to say, that of their players, especially homegrown stars, is not any better following the Devers trade. 

Say Boston decides to stick with Breslow for the time being. What can we expect next from him?

The one thing he hasn’t been during his time in Boston is shy about making significant and even controversial trades. Here are some options for trades Breslow could pursue, considering how aggressive we’ve seen him be in the recent past. 

Trade OF Jarren Duran to the Detroit Tigers for RHP Jackson Jobe. 

Duran, 28, is a player clearly in the middle of his prime who could provide significant value to an organization in win-now mode, such as Detroit. Despite his numbers being significantly lower than they were a season ago, Duran is more than capable of impacting the game in multiple different ways. The Tigers rank dead last in Major League Baseball in stolen bases, and Duran’s speed could help change that aspect of their offense, as he has stolen a total of 73 bases since the start of the 2023 season. 

On the flip side, Jobe, just 22 years old and one who is about to endure the long, grueling rehab from Tommy John surgery, is a former top prospect and has the upside of a frontline starter who could provide significant value to the Red Sox in the future, considering that the team appears to be engaging in at least a partial rebuild.

Trade RHP Walker Buehler to the Chicago Cubs for SS/2B Jefferson Rojas. 

After losing steady starter Justin Steele early in the season to Tommy John surgery, the Cubs’ pitching staff has done a decent job getting by, and their prolific offense has them in first place in the NL Central. With frontline starter Shota Imanaga close to a return from his injury that he suffered in the beginning of May, Chicago combining his return with the addition of Buehler, given his track record in the postseason, could take the pressure off of both the pitching staff and the offense, potentially providing the Cubs with an extra gear to kick their season into in August and beyond. 

Rojas, MLB’s #72 overall prospect and the Cubs’ #5 prospect, has the makings of a steady middle infielder that could provide stability, especially defensively, to Boston’s infield, which has not seen such a thing in years.

Trade OF Jarren Duran, OF Wilyer Abreu, and #5 prospect OF Jhostynxon Garcia, and #4 prospect RHP Luis Perales to the Atlanta Braves for OF Ronald Acuña Jr. 

Now the bold stuff. The shocking, some may argue reckless, some may argue genius deals that we’ve seen Breslow not be afraid to make in the past. 

The Braves have been at odds with Acuña for quite some time now, with conflicts between him and manager Brian Snitker about a lack of hustle recurring time and time again over the course of Acuña’s career in Atlanta. Not entirely a dissimilar situation from Devers and Boston. 

Luckily for Atlanta, Acuña is one of the most talented players in the league and is on an outrageously cheap contract for a player of his caliber, so they are likely to get a haul if they decide to part ways with him. 

This move would increase Atlanta’s outfield flexibility, with aging star Marcell Ozuna potentially being moved in July to a contender as well, and gives them prospects to look forward to and strengthen their rather uninspiring farm system. 

For Boston, it helps clear up the outfield log jam while bringing in a bonafide superstar. Anthony(21)/Rafaela(24)/Acuña(27) is about as good as it gets in the outfield, for both now and the future. And as we are already seeing with Devers, a change of scenery can be all that it takes to change the tide with a superstar’s attitude. 

Trade #3 prospect SS/2B Franklin Arias, #4 prospect RHP Luis Perales, and RHP Richard Fitts to the Athletics for OF/DH Brent Rooker. 

The Athletics trading Rooker makes so much sense, almost too much. The organization appears to still be 2-3 years away from fielding a contender on the field, and Rooker, who is already 30, would be able to bring in tremendous value in a potential trade. He’s followed up his career year in 2024 which saw him hit 39 home runs with a .927 OPS and finish 10th in AL MVP voting with 16 home runs already this season. 

For Boston, a prospect haul and some Major League level talent in exchange feels fair, and they would be able to replace Devers with a slugger in his prime whose swing perfectly fits Fenway Park. And, they’ve shown interest in Rooker in the past. 

Trade OF Jarren Duran and #3 prospect SS/2B Franklin Arias to the Arizona Diamondbacks for 1B Josh Naylor.

Another trade involving Duran to clear up the outfield log jam for Boston, this one brings in a lefty replacement of Rafael Devers. Naylor, freshly 28, is in the heart of his prime and has established himself as one of the better left handed hitters in all of baseball, sporting an OPS+ of 118 or higher for four consecutive seasons. He is only on a one-year deal with Arizona, so he would be a rental, but if he’s able to help the Red Sox make a fall push and play October baseball, they would be inclined to extend him and lock up their first baseman of the future. 

Whether they choose to go the route of buying or selling, it would be very surprising if Breslow is done after the Devers trade. He’s kept the team active on the trade market during his tenure and just freed up over $250 million to play with this winter. It feels like the first of many dominos to fall over the next month and into this offseason.