Casas headlines top Red Sox trade candidates to break lefty logjam

Casas headlines top Red Sox trade candidates to break lefty logjam originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

For the sake of the argument — and just go with me for a second — does anything stand out about this reasonably plausible Red Sox lineup that could take the field in 2025?

C – Kyle Teel

1B – Triston Casas

2B – Enmanuel Valdez

3B – Rafael Devers

SS – Marcelo Mayer

LF – Roman Anthony

CF – Jarren Duran

RF – Wilyer Abreu

DH – Masataka Yoshida

If you answered, “Let’s hope there’s a righty on the mound, because all nine spots are left-handed,” you’re the winner! (And yes, yes, I know — Trevor Story, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Vaughn Grissom, all right-handed, will presumably be on the roster next year, but I told you to go with me.)

For a team that plays half its games in Fenway Park and yet has hit 21 more homers on the road this season, this is not tenable. The Red Sox must make themselves more right-handed, and that challenge will only intensify if and when outfielder Tyler O’Neill, the club’s primary right-handed power threat, leaves in free agency.

So what are they to do? For once, the answer is easy: trade someone. Now comes the trickier part: who?

Let’s start by taking some candidates off the table. Anthony is the No. 1 prospect in baseball, so he’s not going anywhere. Devers, by virtue of his remaining salary (nearly $300 million), tendency to break down, and iffy future at third, probably isn’t going to return equivalent value, despite his obvious talent. Duran is coming off an MVP-caliber season and plays as hard as anyone, which one immature and offensive comment last month doesn’t outweigh.

As for everyone else? Make your best offer.

Valdez is a 4-A player, so he’s really not part of the discussion. Yoshida is owed so much money over the next three years ($55.8 million) for so little production (25 lifetime homers) and even less versatility (full-time DH only), that it’s hard to imagine there will be a market for his services, though the Red Sox should certainly try. Given the difficulty of developing catching, I’d be inclined to keep Teel, even though the right-handed Connor Wong emerged as a borderline All-Star this year.

So that leaves the big three, players with legitimate value who could help the club land any number of impact performers, whether it’s a right-handed bat or a frontline starter. They are Casas, Mayer, and Abreu. Let’s take them in reverse order.

Abreu’s value extends beyond his offensive skills (.796 OPS) and strong arm in right field. He’s got some Trot Nixon-like intangibles, and as the Red Sox look to build their next great team, there should always be room for talented Dirt Dogs who play with toughness and intensity. Abreu fits that bill.

Still, with Ceddanne Rafaela best suited to center field, where he could win a Gold Glove, and Anthony needing a place to play, moving an outfielder would be an obvious choice. That doesn’t make it an easy one.

A tougher ask would be Mayer. The team’s top prospect for almost four full years until Anthony finally surpassed him this season, the shortstop comes with red flags. He has seen his last two seasons cut short by injury, with a lumbar strain sidelining him before he could take a swing at Triple-A. There’s little doubt about his ability, though, especially after he hit .307 with an .850 OPS at Double-A this year.

He’s a consensus top-10 prospect who ranks as high as third (MLB Pipeline) on the major lists. The No. 4 pick in the 2021 draft still holds considerable cachet, and he could be the centerpiece of a deal for an impact starter. Trading him would be a massive gamble, but it should be on the table, especially if the Red Sox believe he’s more likely to land at third base than stay at short.

That leaves Casas, who probably represents the sweet spot. He has endured a frustrating 2024, missing about 100 games with a rib injury, but as his recent three-homer outburst vs. the Twins illustrates, he possesses game-changing power.

He’s also at a position of potential redundancy because Devers isn’t staying at third forever. Casas has occasionally frustrated manager Alex Cora with his behavior, like describing his injury in more florid terms to reporters than the team, and there’s no doubt he’s an iconoclast.

He’s also incredibly talented, with under-the-hood numbers that should tantalize any sabermetrically inclined team, which is pretty much all of them. Few players swing harder or find more barrels than Casas, who possesses easy 40-homer potential, but also rarely swings outside the strike zone. That’s a rare combination.

If the old adage about needing to give something to get something is true, then Casas represents chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s prime trade chip this winter. He’s young, skilled, and unfortunately left-handed, and the Red Sox need to break a logjam. Meaningful upgrades come at a steep cost. Perhaps it will be Casas.