The Boston Red Sox made one of the biggest moves at this year’s MLB trade deadline, acquiring Adley Rutschman for a haul of three top prospects, Carlos Narvaez and a player to be named later.
It was a huge swing by Craig Breslow, who followed through on all of the talk that he wanted to do something big to help his surging team. While the Red Sox and their fans are extremely excited about the addition of Rutschman, we’ve learned that he certainly wasn’t the only big name Boston went after.
Tyler Milliken shared the list of stars that Alex Speier of the Boston Globe recently revealed the Red Sox pursued in the lead-up to the trade deadline. That list was lengthy and highlighted by superstar shortstops Elly De La Cruz and Bobby Witt Jr.
“The list of catchers and shortstops the Red Sox at least “discussed” leading up to the trade deadline, via @alexspeier:
Zach Neto (Angels) Otto Lopez (Marlins) C.J. Abrams (Nationals) Francisco Lindor (Mets) Hunter Goodman (Rockies) Liam Hicks (Marlins) Francisco Alvarez (Mets) Adley Rutschman (Orioles) Elly De La Cruz (Reds) Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals) Dillon Dingler (Tigers) De La Cruz, Witt Jr., and Dingler were viewed as off limits. The A’s were also firm about Shea Langeliers not being available,”
Boston could certainly look to revisit a trade for any of these players this offseason should they so desire.
While De La Cruz and Witt Jr. would come at enormous costs and feel more like a pipe dream, the Red Sox have a strong farm system and a president of baseball operations who has shown he’s not afraid to pony up to land a player he wants.
Of the two, De La Cruz is the much more likely option given there is more uncertainty surrounding his long-term future in Cincinnati, whereas Witt Jr. is locked up in Kansas City through 2037. As a result, De La Cruz could be one to watch on the trade market this winter, with Boston as a prime landing spot to keep an eye on.
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