Boston Red Sox trade rumors: Jason Heyward a potential target?

A popular MLB trade rumor, also known as an MLB pipe dream in most circles, is that the Boston Red Sox might eventually trade for slugging Miami Marlins’ outfielder Giancarlo Stanton.

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In theory that might happen, but it probably won’t be a possibility anytime soon. While people find it impossible to believe that Stanton would ever stay in Miami because of the money he will eventually command, he is still under team control through 2017. There is no urgency for the Marlins to look to trade Stanton, at least not yet.

There might be another outfielder available in a trade sooner, however, and he is young and powerful in his own right. Granted, Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves is not necessarily on the level of Stanton, but he can thump at the plate and he plays some of the best outfield defense in all of baseball.

Heyward was one of the only Braves who did not sign a long-term contract extension this past off-season, and so his contract is up at the end of the 2016 season.

If the Braves do not plan to sign Heyward beyond that season, they might start exploring trades. If they do, they will have an interested party in the aforementioned Red Sox. According to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald:

"The Braves probably won’t wait so long before moving Heyward, who can become a free agent after next season. And they already have tipped their hand that they don’t plan to keep him long term. In February, they locked up first baseman Freddie Freeman to an eight-year, $135 million extension one day after signing Heyward for only two years and $13.3 million……But Heyward can still be a middle-of-the-order force, assuming he’s able to fix the holes that exist in his unorthodox swing. He just turned 25 and hasn’t even entered his prime. Why shouldn’t those years come with the Red Sox?"

The Red Sox just signed Rusney Castillo for their outfield, but the search won’t stop there. A potential trade for an outfielder will still be on the table, and Heyward would present an interesting trade target if those talks ever took shape.