5 Players the Red Sox Should Trade Before the Deadline

Zak Drapeau
Jul 7
5 min read

Updated: Jul 8

by Zak Drapeau 7/7/2025 FansOnlySportz

Jarren Duran

Some will say that Durran is the "Heart and Soul" of the Red Sox now that Raffy Devers is gone, but the truth is that the Sox will get more out of a trade package for him than they will from his play.

Durran is a 28-year-old Outfielder who can play all 3 spots with great speed and a decent bat. He's coming off a stellar 2024 season that showed the true potential he has. Potential teams will trade for! His batting and fielding are at a low right now and have been the reason for recent trade talks surrounding the man. If Duran was out of the lineup (Like Devers), his spot would go to a young or retooling player and make a lot more sense in the long run.

The Red Sox have a LOT of outfielders, and with Roman and Abreu on the rise and Duran seemingly on the decline, it will be best to trade for him now and continue the building of a young core. Even if Duran does get back to his potential, it isn't any better than Wilyer's or Roman's. A move to Center isn't in the cards either, as Rafaela's defense has been outstanding, and his bat has come a long way in the last month or two as well.

Teams looking to add another outfield bat and some speed on the base paths for the playoffs will likely fork over at least one good pitching prospect for Duran. When Yoshida comes back this month, his presence on the field likely won't even be missed. Now his presence in the clubhouse is a different story... Duran is a team captain and a locker room leader, but from a business standpoint, Duran's departure would make too much sense.

Aroldis Chapman

Pure and simple, a .500 team doesn't need a premier closer, and Chapman has been a Top-5 closer in the league this year. As much as Boston and its fans have LOVED Chapman this season, we would get more out of him through a trade.

Chapman's contract is only for 1-year and he will likely move on to another team for more money next season anyway. For a half-year rental of a premier closer, the Red Sox won't get anything too significant, but could easily get some decent prospects either in the lineup or rotation.

Walker Buehler

Buehler has been the biggest disappointment of the season, and it's not particularly close. A $21 million contract and his past results as a Dodger made him one of the best FA signings last year, but who would have guessed he'd be playing closer to a minor leaguer by this stage of the year?

In 16 starts, Buehler owns a 6.25 ERA and 1.58 WHIP. As a 30-year-old, Buehler is on his 3rd consecutive year of decline from his prime years in LA, and this season has been a drastic fall off. Unfortunately for the Sox, they don't have much else in terms of replacement starters right now, so Buehler is likely to stay.

This would be another case of, "he's gonna leave after this year, so you might as well get something for him."

The sad part is, when Buehler's on, he's filthy. He still has the stuff for sure, but has struggled with control (32 walks in 72 IP), allowing home runs (averaging 1 per start), and has a ballooned 5.77 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching measures a pitcher's ability to get outs regardless of fielding).

Buehler's chances in Boston should have run out for him, and even if the team gets a low-potential, Single-A corner infielder, it'd probably be worth it in the long run.

David Hamilton

The truth is, I feel a lot better about Hamilton over the last month. His base running and fielding are above average, and as far as bench, utility players are concerned, he's amongst the upper-tier in the league. The Red Sox will only ever need him for a backup, though, and that's why his worth is better in a trade.

In May and June, questions of his character and work ethic made him a solid player on my version of this list, at least, but throughout the up-and-down last 4 weeks the team has had, he's been solid and reliable on a team that hasn't seen much of those qualities.

Hamilton's speed is his best quality, and honestly, besides having a great season or two in his history, somewhat resembles an infield version of Jarren Duran. A speedy 27-year-old who's normally a good fielder but is having a lousy season. His potential at the plate won't touch Durran's, but everything else does...

I don't know what we'd get for Hamilton, but his ceiling has been reached in Boston, and truthfully, you may never get more for the 27-year-old platoon second baseman than right now.

Alex Bregman

Alright, so this one's tricky, and the truth is I am not sure the Red Sox should even trade Bregman, but the opportunity is definitely there.

First of all, Bregman needs to return healthy before the July 31st deadline and quickly get back to his performance level pre-injury. If that happens, the question of trading Bregman boils down to two questions...

Are the Sox giving up on the playoffs this season? And will Alex Bregman opt out in FA?

While the 2nd question poses a bigger part of the would-be trade, the first question is a bigger deal in fans' minds and is a part in most of the trades on this list, particularly for Bregman, Duran, and Chapman. The Red Sox are currently 46-45 and have been VERY inconsistent over the past 4 weeks. Now that the bats are heating up, the pitching is letting more runs in, but two weeks ago, the pitching was on fire, and the bats aren't there.

With the Devers' trade already putting doubt into fans' minds, another trade of a star player like Bregman would DEFINITELY insist on this being a "rebuilding year".

The crazy part is, they would probably get a better haul for Bregman than they did for Rafi. Bregman was batting at an All-Star level before his injury and is a former Gold Glove 3B. His championship history at all phases of the game would be a HUGE get for any team looking to make a run, and they could do so with the possible future of 2 more seasons depending on Bregman's decision in his opt-outs.

With Bregman in the lineup, the Red Sox will truly have a chance to snag the Wild Card this season. The potential in this lineup is staggering, and Bregman may be the best bat amongst them. The problem is, if he does go off and helps bring us to the playoffs... we might lose him in FA anyway. Whether he's traded or not, it's almost a lose-lose scenario for the Red Sox.