Red Sox-Yankees Trade Involving Gold Glover Could Solve Each Team's Biggest Problem

Chaim Bloom and Brian Cashman already made one Red Sox-Yankees trade

Scott Neville | Feb 10, 2023

Red Sox-Yankees Trade Involving Gold Glover Could Solve Each Team's Biggest Problem /

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Both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees enter spring training with questions surrounding middle infield depth.

The Yankees enter camp with established veteran Isiah Kiner-Falefa, rookie Oswald Peraza -- No. 3 Yankees prospect according to MLB Pipeline -- and Anthony Volpe -- No. 1 Yankees prospect -- expected to be called up at some point in 2023 after reaching Triple-A last season. The Yankees also have Oswaldo Cabrera, a natural infielder who has been converted to the outfield to get his bat in the lineup.

There are not enough at-bats to go around with the number of Yankees middle infielders on the roster. Of the many promising options, Kiner-Falefa would be the logical odd-man out.

As for the Red Sox? Boston enters the season with Kiké Hernández expected to handle the bulk of the workload at shortstop. Christian Arroyo and Adalberto Mondesí -- two of the most injury-prone players in Major League Baseball -- are expected to split the rest of the second base and middle infielder duties. The Red Sox need to add another middle infielder and Kiner-Falefa could be the solution.

Kiner-Falefa hit .261 with 24 extra-base hits including four home runs, 48 RBIs and a .642 OPS in 142 games last season.

The 27-year-old won an American League Gold Glove for his defensive play at third base in 2020. He played shortstop last season, can play second base and broke into the league as a catcher -- providing unique versatility.

Kiner-Falefa could solve the Red Sox's lack of middle infield depth, while clearing a path for the Yankees' top prospects to develop at the highest level.

Trades between the two biggest rivals in baseball are rare but Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman already have one exchange under their belts.

The Yankees dealt right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino and right-handed prospect Franklin German to the Red Sox for a player to be named later. The move was a salary dump for New York but Boston got the most out of the deal prior to the 2021 season.

Another deal could be on the way.

More MLB: Top Unsigned MLB Players Still Available At Each Position; How Red Sox Can Bolster Roster

Published Feb 10, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu