Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has stated his priorities for this offseason repeatedly. Just earlier this week, at the MLB general managers’ meetings in Las Vegas, Breslow summed it up in two words: “Starting pitching.”
Breslow then got a bit more specific, in an interview with Ian Browne of MLB.com.
“Particularly someone we feel can start alongside or slot in behind Garrett (Crochet) and start a playoff game for us,” Breslow said in the interview. “I donât think weâre going to spend a ton of time trying to add a No. 4 or a No. 5 starter. If weâre going to make a starting pitching addition, I think it should be somebody who can pitch at the front of a rotation and start a playoff game for us.â
Trade Target: Hunter Greene
Last offseason, Breslow was looking for a No. 1 starter and he found one in Crochet, sending four of the Red Sox most prized prospects â including each of the Red Sox’ first-round draft picks from 2023 and 2024 â in a trade to bring the White Sox ace to Boston.
In a trade proposed by the hosts of the Red Sox podcast Play Tessie, Breslow could pull off a second edition of that blockbuster, though this one would include two elite prospects and an established major leaguer â right fielder Wilyer Abreu, who won his second straight Gold Glove this season, in just his second full season as the big league level.
The target â 26-year-old righty Hunter Greene, who has struck out 617 in 495 2/3 innings across his four-year career. Greene’s four-seam fastball has been clocked at speeds over 101 mph.
Greene is signed through 2029 on a six-year, $53 million contract.
The Reds need outfielders. Abreu’s .786 OPS in 2025 was higher than any posted by the Reds outfielders, who were led by 30-year-old, eight-year veteran Austin Hays at .768.
Abreu’s 22 home runs were also more than any single Reds outfielder produced. Again, Hays topped the Cincinnati outfield group with 15.
2 of Top 3 Red Sox Prospects in Proposed Deal
No matter how much better Abreu would be than any current Reds outfielder both at the plate and in the field, the Play Tessie hosts, realizing that one player will not be enough, also proposed adding two of Boston’s highest-rated prospects to the deal to bring Greene to Boston.
Franklin Arias is a 19-year-old shortstop signed out of Venezuela in 2023 for a $525,000 bonus, MLB Pipeline rates Arias the No. 1 prospect in the Red Sox system, and No. 24 among all prospects.
A scouting report by SoxProspects.com calls the 5-foot-11, 170-pound Arias a “potential everyday regular at shortstop. Ceiling of a quality regular who provides value with his glove and contact ability.”
Also included in the Play Tessie-proposed deal, the Red Sox No. 3 prospect and another outfielder signed out Venezuela, Jhostynxon “The Password” Garcia.
Krall Throws Up Obstacle to Deal
Coming in at No. 85 on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospect list, Garcia received a $350,000 bonus in 2022 to sign with the Red Sox. He belted three home runs at Double-A Portland this year, then another 18 after gaining his promotion to Triple-A Worcester.
One potential obstacle to the proposed trade â Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said on Wednesday when asked about trading Greene, “right now, that’s not on the table.â
Perhaps significantly, however, in an interview with Mark Sheldon of MLB.com, Krall also said, “I don’t want to rule out anything.”
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