Two surprising Red Sox stars tabbed to get traded: insider

As the Boston Red Sox look to build on their best season since 2021, with 89 wins and a playoff appearance, baseball operations chief Craig Breslow cannot afford to treat any player on the current major league roster as untradeable, with very few exceptions. That, anyway, is the view of longtime Red Sox reporter and insider Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.

Writing earlier in the week, Abraham said that except for this season’s rookie sensation Roman Anthony and 18-game winning Cy Young candidate Garrett Crochet, “every player in the organization should be on the table to swing trades that would improve the rotation and add power to the lineup.”

Abraham conceded that closer Aroldis Chapman — who at age 37 was just signed to a one-year, $13.3 million extension by the Red Sox — and catcher Carlos Narvaez could be added to the “untouchable” list.

But the 15-year veteran of the Red Sox beat named a pair of players as potential trade candidates who would come as a shock to most Red Sox fans, and maybe even the Red Sox themselves.

Among the trade candidates, according to Abraham, is shortstop Marcelo Mayer — Boston’s first round draft pick in 2021, and at No. 4 overall, the highest Red Sox draft pick since 1967. While Mayer’s progress has been slowed by injuries, including wrist surgery that ended his debut big league campaign this year, the 22-year-old from Chula Vista, California, is looked upon as the organization’s shortstop of the future

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In fact, Mayer would be the shortstop of the very near future if incumbent veteran Trevor Story exercises the opt-out clause in his contract and becomes a free agent this offseason.

Just as surprising, Abraham suggested that centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela should also offered in trade by Breslow.

Not only would a trade of Rafaela be a shock because the 25-year-old from Curacao has become one of the elite defensive centerfielders in MLB, and also has the versatility to shift to second base where he played 24 games this season and 10 in 2024.

A trade of Rafaela would be stunning because just last year, before his rookie season, the Red Sox signed Rafaela to an eight-year extension for what will likely turn out to be an economical $50 million.

“It’s hard to imagine the team giving up on a Platinum Glove candidate who is just 25 years old and has an AAV of $6.25 million,” noted BoSox Injection writer Brandon Glick.

Of course, Breslow’s whether to trade any player will come down to the players he may be able to get in return. A solid No. 2 starter such as the Minnesota Twins’ Joe Ryan or Cincinnati Reds’ Nick Lodolo may be enough for Boston’s baseball chief to send one if not both of those young players on his way.

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