{"id":1054,"date":"2026-05-23T23:34:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T23:34:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1054"},"modified":"2026-05-23T23:34:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T23:34:45","slug":"red-sox-should-consider-these-big-moves-to-turn-the-team-into-a-real-contender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1054","title":{"rendered":"Red Sox should consider these big moves to turn the team into a real contender"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>The Red Sox arrived at Fenway Park on Saturday only two games out in the American League wild card race.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1052\">Law enforcement authorities are responding to reports of shots fired near White House<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>According to calculations made by Baseball-Reference.com, the Sox have a 27.4 percent chance of making the postseason. Fangraphs.com gives them a 31 percent shot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That\u2019s far more a reflection of how mediocre the American League has been this season than anything the Red Sox have done.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>Those playoff odds are nonsense anyway. The 2011 Red Sox had a 90 percent chance to make the playoffs right up until the day they were eliminated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But Smilin\u2019 Sam Kennedy went on WEEI on Friday and said the Sox are having trade conversations and \u201cthere\u2019s urgency\u201d to improve.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It has been a month since the Red Sox fired Alex Cora and six of his coaches, saying the move was necessary for the team to realize its potential. They have played better since, but certainly aren\u2019t anybody\u2019s idea of a playoff team at 22-28.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Now the Sox will try to sell you on the idea that trading for another hitter will make a difference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That the Sox needed to add significantly to their lineup was evident when last season ended. It was still the case after the Winter Meetings ended in December and when spring training started in February.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>They had three-plus months to address an obvious weakness and failed. Trading for Willson Contreras has worked out well, but chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and his quants wildly overvalued Caleb Durbin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This is a team that has given Mickey Gasper, Andruw Monasterio, and Masataka Yoshida 30 starts at designated hitter over 51 games. Sox DHs have three home runs this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Sox also failed to fill the leadership vacuum left by Alex Bregman\u2019s signing with the Cubs. That situation had worsened with Trevor Story expected to be on the injured list into July.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>They needed the urgency Kennedy spoke of the other day in January, not in May. Now the Sox are in the bottom five in the majors in runs, home runs, and OPS. Unless they\u2019re willing to trade a package of top-level prospects to land an All-Star slugger, no trade is going to make enough of a difference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1050\">Red Sox explore a platoon situation at third base between Caleb Durbin and Nick Sogard<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Astros owner Jim Crane has vowed never to rebuild. So Houston would have to be knocked out to deal designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, who is signed to a bargain contract through 2028. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Mike Trout seems content to play out his career with the Angels and have his Octobers free to watch his beloved Eagles. But even if that changed, he\u2019s signed through 2030 at $37.1 million a year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Then there\u2019s this: Red Sox ownership sided with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow when they fired Cora. Do they still trust him to make a big trade?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If recent history is a guide, the Sox will trade second-tier prospects for someone like Randal Grichuk, then try to convince the fans they\u2019re committed to winning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Last year, it was Dustin May and Steven Matz, who didn\u2019t rescue the pitching staff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In 2024, the Sox acquired catcher Danny Jansen, starter James Paxton, and relievers Luis Garcia and Lucas Sims to feign competitiveness. That quartet combined for minus-0.9 bWAR.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Sox fans aren\u2019t fools. They know this roster needs major work before the World Series becomes a realistic goal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Sox would be smarter to take advantage of the lack of sellers in the trade market and make players like Aroldis Chapman, Jarren Duran, and Sonny Gray available.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Chapman is at the height of his value. He\u2019s a lockdown closer with two World Series rings signed to an affordable contract. His 2.26 earned run average in 46 career postseason games would have contenders lined up. Every other reliever should be available, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Gray is in the final year of his contract and has pitched well. Trading Duran would clear up the outfield logjam, and his skill set should be able to attract a contender. Isiah Kiner-Falefa\u2019s versatility also could net a prospect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Sox are not legitimate contenders. The focus should be on changing that for next season. The sooner they get started, the better.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1048\">Latvia stuns the United States at ice hockey worlds<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Sox would be smart to take advantage of the lack of sellers in the trade market and make players like Aroldis Chapman, Jarren Duran, and Sonny Gray available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Red Sox should consider these big moves to turn the team into a real contender - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1054\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Red Sox should consider these big moves to turn the team into a real contender - 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