Red Sox Could Trade For Rays All-Star Slugger In Surprising Blockbuster

Boston is poised to pull of an unexpected trade this week

Apr 14, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes (17) runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants in the seventh inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox are expected to make a measured addition to their young and talented roster this week, but what if Boston surprised everyone and wholly committed to a bold move instead?

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow would generate shockwaves throughout Major League Baseball if he found a way to deal for Isaac Paredes of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Paredes, 25, was ranked the No. 1 bat and No. 3 overall player this week among the 50 assets likely to be moved before the deadline, according to Tim Britton and Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic.

“Would the Rays trade a 25-year-old All-Star under team control through 2027?” Britton and Gleeman said. “It’s going to take a gigantic prospect package to even get the conversation going, but if history is any indication, Tampa Bay is always open for business if the price is right, and Isaac Paredes’ salary will rise substantially beginning in 2025. His inclusion on this list is perhaps a moot point, but if Paredes were made available he’d be the market’s top combination of present value and future team-controlled upside as a right-handed slugger around whom lineups can be built.”

Tampa Bay is unlikely to entertain offers from Boston that don’t include at least one of Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony, which places Breslow in an interesting position. If Paredes became available — as Britton and Gleeman indicate he could — and the Rays were willing to offload him to the Red Sox for a package containing the best players that Boston’s farm system has to offer, would Breslow bite?

Paredes is on a similar age timeline to Boston’s current core headlined by Jarren Duran.

The ultimate function of a farm system is to turn its players into Major League producers, either through trading those players for productive big leaguers or developing those players themselves into producers. Breslow is highly aware of this balance, and it will be at the forefront of his mind if he is presented with an opportunity to acquire Paredes.

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