The Red Sox are coming off a second straight Wild Card Series exit, but Bleacher Report’s latest Moneyball rankings still paint Boston as one of the more valuable rosters in baseball. B/R placed the Red Sox sixth overall, a nod to the kind of production they’re getting from relatively inexpensive pieces like Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela.
That ranking also comes with a built-in reminder: Boston has room to clean things up. Trevor Story remains one of the tougher contracts to move because of his 10-5 rights, but there are other spots on the payroll the Red Sox can attack more realistically this offseason.
Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida are the two names that stand out. The Red Sox are open to moving one or both of them this offseason, per @alexspeier.
Duran is projected to make $11.1 million in 2027, while Yoshida is heading into the final year of his five-year, $90 million deal. Together, they could account for more than $29 million next season.
That’s a hefty number for two players who, at this point, don’t look like they justify the price tag. There is at least some case for keeping Duran around as insurance if Roman Anthony continues to have fragility issues.
Yoshida is a different story. His defense has been such a problem that he’s basically been squeezed out of Boston’s lineup.
And that brings the Red Sox right back to the same issue they keep circling every offseason: the outfield logjam. It’s a familiar problem, and it still hasn’t been solved. Trading one or both of Duran and Yoshida would not only clear up the daily playing-time puzzle for Chad Tracy, it would also give Boston more financial flexibility.
Craig Breslow’s exact path is still unclear. A non-tender for Duran can’t be ruled out, but the more likely route is that Boston will first work through every trade option before considering anything more drastic.
The bottom line is simple: there’s still some dead weight to trim, and this offseason gives the Red Sox a shorter window than usual to make decisions that actually move the roster forward.
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