Should Red Sox Avoid Trading Young Star Outfielder To ALCS Contender?

Perhaps not all trade partners are created equal...

Jun 27, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; A general view a Cleveland Guardians hat and glove on the dugout railing before a game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images / Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox have a trade on the horizon. It's just that no one is sure who will be moved.

With far too many left-handed hitters, especially outfielders, the Red Sox have more lineup depth than they know what to do with. And given that the pitching staff is, well, understaffed, there's good reason to believe one of those hitters will be traded for pitching help.

One of the obvious trade candidates is 2024 rookie outfielder Wilyer Abreu, who carved out a role for himself as the starting right fielder and was named a Gold Glove finalist earlier this week. With top prospect Roman Anthony angling for playing time, Abreu could be the odd man out by midseason in 2025 if he stays.

Trading Abreu might seem like a sound idea in theory, but there is one place the Red Sox should be wary about sending him. Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently named the Cleveland Guardians as a trade fit for Abreu, while predicting that Boston would explore trades for the young lefty.

"Abreu is only 25 and his club control runs through 2029," Rymer said. "He's a valuable asset just on those terms, which is to say nothing of how he had a solid .781 OPS and outstanding defensive metrics as a rookie this season."

The other two teams Rymer listed as Abreu trade candidates, the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates, make at least some sense. Both of those teams have young starting pitchers they could look to move (Brady Singer of the Royals; Jared Jones or top prospect Bubba Chandler of the Pirates). But it's hard to see why Cleveland would make any sense.

The Guardians have one established quality big-league starting pitcher under team control next season in Tanner Bibee. Bibee isn't going anywhere, Shane Bieber is a free agent, and the only other potentially enticing name, Triston McKenzie, got demoted to Triple-A after an abysmal 2024 season.

Worst of all, trading Abreu to the Guardians, a team that has constantly struggled to find a quality right fielder the past few years, could be handing over the final piece of the puzzle. Cleveland nearly tied the American League Championship Series at two games apiece with the New York Yankees last night, and with Abreu, they could be a legitimate World Series threat.

So even if the Guardians might love to have Abreu, the Red Sox should quickly shut down any thoughts of sending him to Cleveland.

More MLB: Padres $5 Million Lockdown Reliever Listed As Trade Candidate For Red Sox