3 Red Sox players we’re glad are gone, 2 we wish had stayed

2. Red Sox fans wonder why the team felt the need to trade John Schreiber

One of the more confusing moves the Red Sox made this offseason saw the team trade John Schreiber to the Royals in exchange for pitching prospect David Sandlin. It can be argued that Boston won the deal as Sandlin is a very intriguing prospect, but the Red Sox acting as if they're trying to win while trading one of their best relievers for a prospect is not a choice many teams would've made.

Schreiber broke out in a big way in the 2022 season, working his way from being a minor leaguer to being arguably the most important member of their bullpen that year. He made 64 appearances that season and posted a 2.22 ERA spending most of the year as a primary set-up man.

This past season wasn't quite as good from the right-hander as his ERA rose to 3.86 and he appeared in just 46 games, missing time due to injury, but he still figured to be an important piece for this bullpen in the 2024 season.

The Red Sox bullpen still has some good pieces even without Schreiber, but this trade was a move for the future, not for 2024. It feels like what drove the trade in the first place was simply shedding the $1.175 million Schreiber was set to make this upcoming season (which is a joke).