The Boston Red Sox offseason undeniably has been far from what fans expected coming into the winter. That, however, doesn't mean that this won't be a good baseball team. The rotation should be among the best in baseball, the outfield has legitimate star-power headlined by Roman Anthony, and the infield has some upside, especially with the addition of Willson Contreras. With that being said, there will still be plenty of competitions and moves to be made in spring training, and that likely means we haven't seen the last moves from the Red Sox yet.
Namely, as we embark on spring training, the time down in Fort Myers might be the last we see of some of the players currently in the building. The guys who are fighting for roster spots or may be on the wrong end of a depth battle simply aren't going to have a spot in Boston on Opening Day, and will have to forge a new path to join the Red Sox or another team's roster. These five players, specifically, stand out in that capacity.
Get ready to learn Triple-A or find a new team
UTL Nate Eaton
Early on in the offseason, the Red Sox front office and even Alex Cora seemed to be propping up Nate Eaton to play a key role for Boston this season. That always felt a bit generous to a player who was certainly athletic, but who failed to consistently produce at the plate (even in terms of platoon splits) and whose defense has been suspect. The moves that Boston has since made this offseason seem to indicate they might feel the same doubt about Eaton's role on the 2026 Red Sox.
Though I'm not going to lie to you and say I'm enthused by Isiah Kiner-Falefa being on this baseball team, but he's being paid $6 million and essentially serves the same role as Eaton in terms of versatility and baserunning, but with more of a track record in doing so. Furthermore, while Caleb Durbin was the headliner of the trade with Milwaukee, they also added more versatile infield depth in Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler.
Monasterio, in particular, is likely the piece that pushes Eaton off the roster. In limited work last season with the Brewers, he mashed left-handed pitching, and would seemingly be a better platoon and depth option, especially if Romy Gonzalez is forced to hit the IL before Opening Day. In any case, I expect we see Eaton in Triple-A or getting moved for organizational prospect depth, or at least that's a far likelier option than him being in Cincinnati for the Red Sox' matchup on Opening Day.
IF Tsung-Che Cheng
Earlier in the offseason, the Red Sox claimed 24-year-old infielder Tsung-Che Cheng off of waivers from the Nationals. At least for now, that's offered some semblance of stability for a young player who has been passed around like a hot potato over the past year or so. He made his MLB debut last year, but played in only three games, and was claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay, the New York Mets, and Washington before finally ending up in Boston.
Again harkening back to the Durbin trade with the Brewers, though, there's just almost no way that we're going to see Cheng be anything but organizational depth in the minor leagues. He hit just .209 in Triple-A last season and, while he can play every infield position but first base, he's well down the pecking order for the Red Sox. He'll be a valuable body in spring training to just fill out reps, but don't expect to see him in Boston any time soon (if ever).
2B Brendan Rodgers
The Red Sox invited Brendan Rodgers to spring training after signing the former Gold Glover to a minor league deal this offseason. On Boston's part, it's a smart dice roll on a player whose career has simply taken a stark decline recently, but is still just 29 years old.
Make no mistake, though, Rodgers was quite dismal offensively last season, his first in Houston after six spent with the Colorado Rockies. He posted just a .544 OPS in 43 games with the Astros, and he only had one year above a .735 OPS over his time with the Rockies as well. All that is to say, no one should be anticipating him coming out and dominating offensively, though he does have a career .837 OPS against lefties in his career.
At the same time, Rodgers falls into similar camps as Eaton and Cheng. He can be valuable if he chooses to stick around in Triple-A after spring training, serving as a depth piece that could be called upon in the wake of an injury in the middle of the infield that the Red Sox need to deal with. At the same time, nothing he's shown of late suggests he's going to compete with younger and surely higher-upside players on the roster for actual playing time or a roster spot.
Red Sox trade candidates who will likely be moved
DH/OF Masataka Yoshida
Some Red Sox fans will be doing cartwheels in the street should this come to pass, and it seems like we're certainly trending in that direction. For one, Masataka Yoshida's opening time with the media at the start of spring training painted the picture of a player who hasn't been particularly pleased about how his time in Boston has gone. But more than that, moving Yoshida would free up the DH spot, and make the outfield logjam less cumbersome for the Red Sox while opening up more overall roster flexibility.
Because Yoshida has remained on the roster, though, the assumption has been that Craig Breslow and the Red Sox have had difficulty in trying to move the two years and $36 million remaining on his deal when he's ostensibly a DH-only who doesn't provide much power. However, a report from Red Sox insider Chris Cotillo of MassLive suggests that might not be the case, and makes a trade sound not only possible, but potentially likely.
"This week, one Red Sox executive conceded that it remains to be determined — and is far from a lock — that if all four of the other outfielders are healthy, Yoshida would be on the Opening Day roster. As things stand, he finds himself in something resembling Red Sox purgatory."
Cotillo also reported there has been interest around the league in Yoshida, even if the Red Sox will still likely have to either eat some of his contract, attach a prospect, or both. But the writing does appear to be on the wall that Boston understands how valuable moving Yoshida could be for this roster, and I'd be surprised with the way the tides are turning if they don't make that move before Opening Day to give themselves and Cora as much flexibility with the roster as possible — especially if we see Kristian Campbell start to bounce back in spring training.
LHP Patrick Sandoval
I promise this will be the last time I reference the trade with the Brewers, but moving Kyle Harrison and David Sandlin to Milwaukee in the trade for Durbin did clear out some of Boston's organizational depth in terms of pitching. At the same time, one could still argue that there is more to be done considering that the Red Sox still have Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, Patrick Sandoval and Kutter Crawford right now without a spot in the rotation for any of those guys.
Injuries will happen and that depth will be important, but the Red Sox can also afford to deal for some depth and shed some salary. Sandoval is by far the best option to do that. Due just $9.125 million this season, the stuff from Sandoval has always been enticing, even if the on-field results haven't always matched. At the same time, when it comes to an upside arm returning from injury at a relatively cheap price and who throws from the left side, there could be some demand for that.
Sandoval has already drawn positive reviews from spring training this offseason, but he's a far more valuable trade asset to either help continue to plug holes or to add back to the farm system. It's far from a guarantee that he gets moved, but it would make sense if Boston goes down that route, and I lean it being the more likely outcome in this instance.