This Red Sox offseason has been nothing short of a rollercoaster of madness. The roster looks very different from what it was only just a year ago. And in some ways, it’s better in spots and it’s looking worse in spots. The rotation is looking iffy and the middle infield seems to be a rotating door at this point. But there are good things too. The outfield has been bolstered with talent in the form of Japanese lefty, Masataka Yoshida along with Adam Duvall. The bullpen is now looking much more solid thanks to the additions of Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, and Joely Rodriguez. However, the recent DFA of Matt Barnes and the trade of Josh Taylor still leaves room for improvement.
There is still reason to believe the Red Sox front office still has some moves waiting to be made, and it could be in the form of a trade. One of the likely trade candidates that has been floated around is Alex Verdugo. Verdugo was the main returning piece in the Mookie Betts trade in 2020. And while he is an overall good player, he hasn’t lived up to his potential the Red Sox were hoping for when they acquired him.
Verdugo’s Ceiling is Very High
Verdugo slashed .280/.328/.405 with 11 home runs and 74 runs batted in this past season. This kind of production is not Verdugo’s full potential, and I think the Red Sox know that. But there is still a lot of upside with Alex. In the second half of last year, he was one of the best hitters for the Red Sox by hitting .302 with a .789 OPS after June 1. With this being said, could Verdugo be on the move this winter to fill some of the other holes in the roster?
With Adam Duvall becoming the new center fielder, Kiké Hernandez will reportedly be moving to shortstop this year. But if Verdugo were to be traded for another solid pitcher like Edward Cabrera from the Marlins or Shane Bieber from the Guardians, it could help bolster the rotation, along with moving one of the current starters to the bullpen. This would also mean Kiké would move back to center field with Duvall moving over to right field, and Adalberto Mondesi taking over at shortstop.
It’s all speculation at this point. The Red Sox front office hasn’t let much information leak out this winter when it comes to their trade targets. It has also been very secretive who could be on the trade block. But Verdugo could be one of the valuable pieces in a trade package. So it’s reasonable to believe if the Red Sox were looking to make one last trade this winter, it could include Alex Verdugo.
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