Elite Red Sox Prospect Has 'Most Trade Value' To Land Frontline Starter

Could Boston trade one of its top prospects this offseason?

The Boston Red Sox still have plenty of question marks about the roster.

Boston entered the offseason with plenty of roster holes to fill and hasn't been able to get everything it needs yet. The Red Sox need another marquee hurler after trading away Chris Sale. 

It's unclear what the club will do. Boston missed out on lefty Shōta Imanaga to the Chicago Cubs and now needs to go back to the drawing board. There still are plenty of free agent options available, but also multiple trade candidates.

Boston has been extremely quiet this offseason so there is no way to know what it wants to do. MassLive.com's Christopher Smith took a look at the organization's depth and took a look at who has trade value if the club wants to swing a deal this offseason.

Smith mentioned Boston's No. 2 prospect Roman Anthony as having the "most trade value" among outfielders to get a deal done, but a move is unlikely, according to MassLive.com's Christopher Smith.

"Anthony, who is not on the 40-man roster yet, has the most trade value of any of the six young outfielders mentioned above," Smith said. "He has the value to headline a prospect package to acquire a top-of-the-rotation starter.

"But it would be extremely difficult to part with someone with his talent. Anthony is only 19 and made it to Double-A Portland in September, 14 months after being drafted out of high school. His .403 on-base percentage was second among Red Sox minor leaguers (minimum 395 at-bats, min. 100 games) last year behind only Chase Meidroth (.408)."

It isn't surprising that Anthony has been mentioned as having so much trade value. He is just 19 years old and could be a star in the making. Anthony had a meteoric rise through the Boston farm system in 2023 and shouldn't be traded unless it's a deal for a star under contract for multiple years.

More MLB: Veteran Starter Has 'Made It Clear' He's Interested In Signing With Red Sox