Red Sox Nudged To Trade For $50 Million All-Star Righty Slugger By MLB Insider

Should the Red Sox make a play for this powerful up-and-down hitter?

Sep 14, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) singles against the Oakland Athletics during the seventh inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

It's unclear at this point what Craig Breslow has up his sleeve, but he'd better make sure he has something.

The Boston Red Sox built up some goodwill early in the offseason by trading for Garrett Crochet and signing Walker Buehler. But while the starting rotation now appears to be in good shape, the lineup has an even bigger problem than it did in 2024.

Right-handed power is the biggest missing ingredient for the Red Sox at the moment. They just lost Tyler O'Neill to the Baltimore Orioles and now, they don't have a righty who hit more than 15 home runs during the regular season.

How might Breslow go about attacking this deficiency? There are endless theories, but one insider added to the list of possibilities on Monday.

In a column about potential Red Sox transactions, Boston Globe reporter Pete Abraham suggested Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox as a potential trade target. Robert, whose $50 million extension is set to end after the 2025 season, was an American League All-Star in 2023.

"How about trading for 2023 All-Star Luis Robert Jr., who is coming off a bad season with the Chicago White Sox?" Abraham wrote. "He is signed through 2025 with $20 million team options for 2026 and 2027. The Sox have already made two trades with the White Sox this offseason."

Robert, 26, struggled in 2024 while playing for the worst team in modern Major League Baseball history. But he's only a year removed from a 5.0-WAR season with a Silver Slugger Award. Plus, the two club options would give the Red Sox lots of flexibility.

The bigger question is whether the Red Sox need any additions to their outfield. They would be fairly well set with just Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Wilyer Abreu, and that's before factoring in the potential promotions of top prospects Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell.

So if Breslow does decide to trade for Robert, he knows it's a move fraught with risk. But to take a risk and have it fail is still better than doing nothing at all.

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