Potential Red Sox Target Reportedly Requests Trade Opening Door For Pursuit

The Red Sox very easily could improve their outfield depth with one trade

The Boston Red Sox could get creative in the coming weeks. 

The offseason is in full swing and the first massive contract was handed out Friday night as the Texas Rangers inked a five-year deal with two-time National League Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom worth over $185 million. There's sure to be plenty of other huge deals to be given out in the coming days with Aaron Judge, Justin Verlander, Trea Turner, and Xander Bogaerts still considering options. 

With Winter Meetings set to begin Sunday, more moves likely will come in the extremely near future. While the biggest question surrounding the Red Sox this offseason has been whether or not they will come to terms on a deal with Bogaerts, there are plenty of other holes on the roster they also need to fill if they want to compete in 2023.

One spot the team also needs to improve is its outfield depth. Boston only has five outfielders currently on the 40-man roster in Alex Verdugo, Enrique Hernandez, Jarren Duran, Rob Refsnyder, and Wilyer Abreu. 

Verdugo is expected to be the team's everyday left fielder in 2023, but no other role is as carved out at this time. Hernandez likely will be the team's center fielder, but if the team isn't able to re-sign Bogaerts, Hernandez may need to play the infield more. Duran and Refsnyder played a combined 115 games in 2022 and Abreu is an exciting prospect but hasn't played above Double-A yet in his young career.

One player who in recent weeks has been a suggestion for the Red Sox if they wanted to make a big move has been Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds. 

The 27-year-old has been impressive for the Pirates since making his debut in 2019 and even made the National League All-Star team in 2021. While teams have shown an interest in Reynolds -- including the Red Sox -- until Saturday it didn't seem likely he would be moved. With three years left of team control, it would take a massive deal to make Pittsburgh swing a trade. 

Things took an interesting turn Saturday as Reynolds reportedly requested a trade from the Pirates, according to Post-Gazette Sports' Jason Mackey. 

Reynolds would be a perfect addition to the Boston outfield and would save the team some cash they could then spend elsewhere, but if the Red Sox actually wanted to complete a deal it would be a massive haul. 

Boston would need to consider dealing some combination of Marcelo Mayer, Triston Casas, Miguel Bleis, Ceddanne Rafaela, Nick Yorke, and Bryan Mata if they wanted the Pirates to even consider dealing Reynolds and they likely would need to include multiple top prospects. 

Reynolds shined for the Pirates in 2022 and smashed 27 home runs and drove in 62 runs while slashing .262/.345/.461. The young outfielder's batting average slipped a little bit after hitting .302 in 2021, but his power numbers slightly increased and he would fit in well at Fenway Park. 

The Pirates may not oblige and actually deal their young budding star, but if they do it will be for a haul the Red Sox certainly could afford. The big question more so is would the haul be too much?

The MLB hot stove is certainly going to heat up as Winter Meetings kick off and as the Red Sox's plan become clearer, we should find out soon if Boston would be willing to complete such a deal. 

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