Red Sox must cut ties with these 4 struggling players to rescue their playoff chances

Firing Alex Cora hasn't changed all that much with the Boston Red Sox. Sure, they've looked a bit better, but they fired Cora when they got off to a 10-17 start, and at 17-24, they're still seven games under .500 and in last place in the AL East. They are still struggling to score runs with any sort of consistency, and there are still clear roster holes that must be addressed.

For the Red Sox to turn things around, changes to their roster will need to come, and preferably, those moves will come sooner rather than later. These four players should be sent down, traded or even DFA'd by June 1.

INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa

In an offseason full of head-scratching decisions, the one that might've raised the most eyebrows was the decision to give Isiah Kiner-Falefa $6 million. Kiner-Falefa has been a fine utility player for much of his career, but $6 million? Why? He's primarily been a platoon partner for Marcelo Mayer at second base, and it's safe to say things haven't gone very well in that regard.

Kiner-Falefa is slashing .205/.244/.205 this season. He's gone 8-for-39, and each of his eight hits has been singles. Funny enough, he's been even worse against lefties, going 3-for-20 on the year. What does IKF do well right now?

Romy Gonzalez probably won't be back from the IL by June 1, but whether it's Nate Eaton or even Kristian Campbell, the Red Sox ought to give another infielder a look with a better chance of producing than IKF at this stage of his career.

RHP Ryan Watson

It made sense for the Red Sox to turn back to the Rule-5 well after finding success with Justin Slaten, but Ryan Watson has not been producing much, as his 6.46 ERA in 15 appearances would indicate. Sure, he's eaten some innings, but he's also allowed two or more runs in an outing five times already, and has allowed at least one run in six of his last nine outings. It's not as if he's settling in.

The Red Sox should get Garrett Crochet back from the IL sometime before June, and that should move Brayan Bello to the bullpen, rather than one of Connelly Early or Payton Tolle to Triple-A. Since Bello can be Boston's long reliever, there's no need to hold onto Watson. It's doubtful he'd have much value on the trade market, but that shouldn't stop Boston from making the necessary move of releasing him back to the San Francisco Giants.

RHP Greg Weissert

Greg Weissert played a huge role in the Red Sox's bullpen in 2024 and 2025, posting a 2.97 ERA in 134 appearances over those two seasons. This season, though, he's been everything but reliable, posting a 5.28 ERA in 18 appearances and 15.1 innings of work.

Weissert's struggles have resulted in the Red Sox taking him out of high-leverage situations entirely. He has not even recorded a hold in over a month. Once Crochet and Danny Coulombe return from the IL within the next couple of weeks, the Red Sox should be willing to part with Weissert instead of relievers who have pitched well for the most part, like Tyler Samaniego, Jovani Moran and Zack Kelly. Weissert having an option makes this decision easier, as the Red Sox can just demote him to Triple-A without exposing him to waivers.

OF Jarren Duran

Easily the most controversial name on this list is also the player I'm most surprised has lasted in Boston this long. Jarren Duran was a constant in offseason Red Sox trade rumors, and while Boston elected to hold onto him, he's done nothing to validate their decision. Duran has slashed .189/.247/.315 with four home runs and 18 RBI on the year. He's been in the lineup more consistently under Chad Tracy than he was at the end of Cora's tenure, but he's hit .175 with a .580 OPS under Tracy and has gone 3-for-25 in his last six games. Nothing has changed on the field, and Duran continues to run into issues off of it.

When Roman Anthony is healthy, the Red Sox have an outfield logjam which is why Duran was floated around in rumors to begin with. The Red Sox were unwilling to trade him for anything less than what they deemed his value to be, but at this point, do they have a choice? Why should they continue to play Duran regularly when he's been unable to produce at all?

I get that it's unlikely that a deal actually comes to fruition before June 1, and I get that Boston would be selling remarkably low on a player who is still very talented, but it feels like a deal is for the best of all parties. The Red Sox would clear up their logjam, while Duran would get a fresh start elsewhere. Plus, since Duran has a couple more years of cheap club control, it's not as if Boston would come away completely empty-handed in a deal.

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