Will Red Sox Buy Or Sell? MLB Insiders Predict Trade Deadline Plan

Will he buy or will he sell? That’s what Red Sox Nation wants to know when it comes to Craig Breslow’s approach to the July 31 MLB trade deadline. Boston’s chief baseball officer needs to decide if he will go big or go home and look ahead to 2026.

“Their focus should be on signing (Alex) Bregman to an extension and using the trade deadline to make improvements without mortgaging the future,” the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham wrote Sunday.

“Going all-in at the deadline would mean going after two starters (say Sandy Alcantara and Freddy Peralta) and a hitter such as Josh Naylor, Ryan O’Hearn, or Marcell Ozuna,” Abraham continued. “Given their foundational issues, it wouldn’t be wise for the Red Sox to expend the prospect capital needed to make such trades.

Abraham believes Breslow needs to avoid straddling the fence. “It also wouldn’t make sense to pretend to be buyers like they did last season with the acquisition of low-wattage rentals such as Danny Jansen, Luis Garcia, James Paxton, and Lucas Sims. That group proved to be worth negative 0.9 bWAR.”

Breslow shocked his MLB colleagues last month when he traded All-Star slugger Rafael Devers to the Giants. But with San Francisco taking on Devers’ contract, Boston is positioned to make more moves.

“The Red Sox have enough payroll flexibility to make some additions before the Trade Deadline, and while they’re hanging around the Wild Card race despite a record lingering around .500, there are some who believe Boston could become a seller if they don’t play better in July,” MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand wrote Monday.

Like Abraham, Feinsand believes “The more likely scenario, sources say, is that Boston would try to restructure Bregman’s contract into a longer deal.

Bregman signed a three-year, $120 million contract in February. The deal includes player opt-outs after each of the first two years of the deal, according to Spotrac. Both Bregman, 31, and his agent Scott Boras have expressed a willingness to work on a long-term deal with the Red Sox.

The two-time All-Star is on the injured list with a right quad strain and could return around the All-Star break. He’s hitting .299 this year with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs.