The Boston Red Sox continue to search for their white whale, and that search may take them in some uncomfortable directions.
Since the middle of last season, the Red Sox have had one clear deficiency: right-handed hitting. It led them to make an ill-fated trade for Danny Jansen at the trade deadline, and it’s now leading them into the free-agency and trade markets this winter.
But although everyone agrees that the Red Sox need a righty, they also have lefties entrenched at several positions who would be difficult to move on from. Now that two of the top righties left on the market, Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado, play the same position, the Red Sox are faced with a dilemma.
Zach Pressnell of FanSided recently discussed this dilemma in detail. Pressnell named the Red Sox as a top-three suitor for Arenado, an eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glover, but seemed to indicate that trading first baseman Triston Casas would be necessary to facilitate the acquisition.
“If the Cardinals take on around $30 million or $35 million of the remaining $52 million, Boston could be more willing to take the risk on the veteran third baseman,” Pressnell said.
“This would clear them up to freely deal Casas for a starting pitcher like Luis Castillo or George Kirby from the Seattle Mariners. Casas could also be a key piece in a deal for a pitcher like Dylan Cease, who has Cy Young potential when he puts everything together.”
On the surface, it makes sense: juggle some things around, and use what’s perceived as a bonus asset to bring back talent the Red Sox desperately need. Here’s the issue: Triston Casas is very good now, and could be even better in the future.
Sure, having too many lefties in the lineup can be a disadvantage at times. Sure, Arenado is vastly superior to Devers on defense. But why is getting rid of Casas the solution to all the Red Sox’s problems nowadays? It makes a person uneasy to hear day after day.
Maybe an Arenado trade happens, maybe it doesn’t. Maybe the Red Sox trade for more starting pitching, maybe they don’t. But trading Casas feels like it has the potential to come back to bite this Boston team for many years to come.
