Red Sox Predicted To Cut Ties With 25-Year-Old Slugger By Trade Deadline

Which bats do the Red Sox need to prioritize keeping?

Sep 22, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas (36) hits a home run against the Minnesota Twins during the fifth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

It hasn't looked like an issue for the first two games of the season, but the Boston Red Sox might have too many good hitters.

That may sound like an absurd thing to point out as a problem, but it's already hanging like a dark cloud over the Red Sox's season. Masataka Yoshida couldn't crack the roster without a fully healthy throwing shoulder, while top prospects Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer are still on the way.

Compared to most teams' young big-league stars, the Red Sox's young left-handed hitters faced an uncommon amount of trade speculation this winter.

In particular, first baseman Triston Casas and Wilyer Abreu, two players who couldn't have had more opposite starts to the season so far, were caught up in lots of hypotheticals. As Mayer and Anthony continue to progress toward the majors, are both safe just because the season has begun?

During a recent podcast episode, Jack McMullen of the Just Baseball Show predicted that by the 2025 trade deadline, either Casas or Abreu would be shipped out of town to create breathing room for the others in the lineup, while helping Boston add more high-end pitching.

"I think at some point, the logjam is going to be too much for the Boston Red Sox," McMullen said. "And they're going to see an opportunity to either go get an elite closer or go get another starting pitcher, and I think one of Casas or Wilyer Abreu is gone."

Abreu and Casas are both 25 years old, and either would be a desirable piece of a young, up-and-coming team's lineup. Abreu is a Gold Glover who clearly has an at least above average bat, while Casas has 40-homer potential if he stays healthy and develops a bit more consistency.

The Red Sox have done a better job this season of evening out the righty-lefty disparity, but there are still certainly a lot of lefties jockeying for playing time. Both of these two could be so good, though, that Boston would risk regretting choosing them to be the one to leave.

At some point, though, Anthony and Mayer are coming. Logjams sometimes solve themselves, but the Red Sox shouldn't necessarily count on that in this case.

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