The Boston Red Sox have put together quite an exciting offseason this winter. This comes after they fell short of the postseason in 2024 after being in the race for most of the season.
Boston has added players like Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler to the starting rotation. Crochet is a budding ace with the potential to break out in 2025 even more than he did in 2024. If the flame-throwing lefty can stay healthy and total 180 innings, he could be one of the better left handed starters in baseball. Buehler is looking to bounce back from a poor regular season in 2024. He's faced multiple elbow injuries in his career, so getting a fresh start in a healthy season should be good for him.
Boston also added superstar third baseman Alex Bregman recently. Bregman may end up playing second base for the Red Sox in 2025. Either way, he's a huge addition.
But the Red Sox could look to make another move this winter, this time to clear up some cap space.
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This Mets-Red Sox trade could get both teams off bad contracts
Trading designated hitter Masataka Yoshida would be a massive step toward clearing money for the Red Sox, but they may not be able to do it without taking on a different bad contract. That's where the New York Mets and outfielder Starling Marte fit in.
This trade makes sense for both sides for multiple reasons. Let me explain.
Let's compare both player's 2024 seasons. Marte slashed .269/.327/.388 in 2024 with seven home runs and 13 doubles in 94 games. Yoshida slashed .280/.349/.415 with ten home runs and 21 doubles in 108 games. Yoshida gets the slight edge with the bat, but Marte plays the field, so they're likely pretty even here.
But the Mets need a designated hitter like Yoshida. Boston doesn't necessarily need one for his price tag.
While Yoshida is the slightly better bat, he's also the worse contract. He's set to earn $18.6 million in each of the next three seasons. Marte is set to earn $20.75 million in 2025 before becoming an unrestricted free agent.
While Boston may not be getting the better player, they would be saving nearly $40 million. The Mets have plenty of money to spend and bringing in Yoshida could prove to be well worth it if he continues to slug like in 2024.