Red Sox panic signing of Ranger Suarez turns these 4 players into trade bait

The Red Sox let Alex Bregman leave Boston on a contract they could've afforded. Their reasoning for not keeping the beloved third baseman – who they chose over Rafael Devers, mind you – came down to deferred money, a no-trade clause and broken promises. Bregman signed with the Chicago Cubs instead, leaving Red Sox fans with more questions than answers.

A response to losing Bregman was warranted, but it came in an unusual form. Sure, Boston wanted to add a frontline starting pitcher at some point this winter, but most pundits assumed that would come via trade. Instead, Craig Breslow threw $130 million at Ranger Suarez – likely the second-best starting pitcher left on the free agent market – and got the job done.

Projected Boston Red Sox rotation with Ranger Suarez

The Red Sox starting rotation is loaded with talent, albeit not all of it ace material. One would assume a trade is coming – and we'll get to that later – but as of right now here is what this unit looks like after all of the acquisitions this offseason.

As you can tell, that's a lot of starting pitching depth. And don't be fooled by some of the ERA totals at the bottom, they are misleading. Houck is a former shutdown relief pitcher, while both Tolle and Early are top prospects. Clearly, something has to give for this group, which leads to my next point.

A trade has to be on the horizon for Boston, right? Sure, adding a pitcher like Suarez is nice no matter how much rotation depth you have, but the Red Sox have a Bregman-sized hole in their lineup. If they have to fill that void via trade, so be it. They can deal from a position of strength to do so.

Red Sox have more trade assets than you might think

The Red Sox have already been linked to Ketel Marte and Nico Hoerner this winter, which points to Boston targeting the middle of the infield. If they were to acquire a second baseman, they could move Romy Gonzalez to third base permanently, or sign Bo Bichette to play that position as well. Bichette remains available and linked to Boston, among other team. But the Red Sox have to act fast, and these trade assets could help them do just that.

Payton Tolle or Connelly Early

Tolle is the Red Sox No. 2-ranked prospect, and they'd really prefer not to get rid of him. Tolle has an upper-90's fastball and mixes it with a sweeper and changeup, per MLB Pipeline. While he doesn't have much MLB action to his name, Tolle projects as a top-of-the-rotation starter or a back-end bullpen arm. Either way, he's valuable to the Red Sox as early as next season. The same can be said of Early, who started four games to the tune of a 2.33 ERA. As Ken Rosenthal outlined in his column linking Boston to Hoerner, it might take including either Tolle or Early in the package to make a deal happen:

"The Cubs would need to be overwhelmed for Hoerner, but the Red Sox could tempt them with a package that includes a young pitcher such as Connelly Early or Payton Tolle. Of course, the Sox might consider that too high a price for one year of Hoerner. And then if Hoerner departed, it would be Alex Bregman all over again," Rosenthal wrote.

Hoerner is in a contract year, as well, which is less than ideal for Boston. But if they were to acquire him – especially at the cost of Tolle or Early – they'd make extending the gold glove second baseman their top priority.

Brayan Bello

Given the cost of controllable starting pitching these days, the Red Sox could choose to shop Brayan Bello rather than trade a top prospect like Tolle or Early. Bello has four years and $60 million left on his contract, and had a 3.35 ERA last season. On the free-agent market, Bello would receive more than that $60 million mark, which makes him quite valuable.

Boston needs infield help. As recently as Christmas, Bello was mentioned as a trade option to help the Red Sox acquire a bat. Nothing has come to fruition just yet, but it remains a possibility.

"On another front, a rival executive said...the Red Sox have 'quietly shopped' right-hander Brayan Bello, a characterization a person briefed on Boston’s conversations disputed. That person, however, said Bello’s name often surfaces when teams ask about the Red Sox’s young pitching," Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon wrote.

Trading Bello could help the Red Sox add a player of Hoerner's caliber – or even Brendan Donovan of the St. Louis Cardinals – while keeping their farm system in tact.

Does anyone want Jarren Duran?

Duran is a bit of a mess off the baseball diamond, but on it he can be electric. Unfortunately for him, the Red Sox have a crowded outfield, so much so that they're desperate to get rid of him. This does not mean Duran is a bad player. On the right team, he'd be a real contributor. Just last season, Duran had a .774 OPS and 114 OPS+. He's made an All-Star team and won MVP in that game.

Even in a down season by his standards, Duran is one of the best hitting outfielders in the AL East. FanSided's Chris Landers projected the Kansas City Royals as a possible trade partner for Duran, which makes a lot of sense on the surface.

"It's been radio silence on Duran for months now, but I still have a hard time believing the Red Sox will go into 2026 with four starting outfielders (Duran, Roman Anthony, Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela) for three spots — especially not with infield and pitching needs yet to be addressed. The Royals have long made sense here, long on arms Boston could use but in desperate need of offense without a ton of money to acquire it, and I think a deal eventually gets done."

Duran has been on the trade block for over a year now. It's time the Red Sox act on that impulse, or let him finally settle into his full-time role in Boston's outfield.

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