It took longer than normal, but the first juicy Boston Red Sox rumors of the offseason have arrived.
A slew of reports emerged Tuesday afternoon indicating the Red Sox are looking to make significant trades in an attempt to cut payroll. USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and the New York Post’s Joel Sherman all chimed in with various bits of information, but the common thread appears to be that Rick Porcello is on the trade block. Nightengale and and Sherman also cited rival executives in reporting that Boston is willing to listen to offers for Jackie Bradley Jr., too.
Additionally, Nightengale reports that Xander Bogaerts’ name has been tossed around, but he was the only insider of the three to do so.
There’s a lot to digest, but here are the most relevant tweets:
Rival exec confirms #RedSox looking to cut payroll so they can make other moves (most likely in bullpen) and remain under luxury-tax threshold. Porcello and Bogaerts eligible for free agency after this season, Bradley after 2020. https://t.co/SbK4CJYvDP
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 11, 2018
1/#RedSox are looking to 'tighten up their payroll," 1 rival exec told me. Another said would talk about Bradley and would like to move Porcello. @BobNightengale 1st reported this possibility. Dombrowski has wanted to keep core of champ together, but also wants to manage payroll
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 11, 2018
2/and still has to add to pen. Porcello owed $21M in final yr of pact in '19, Bradley will make about $9M. Porcello is a free agent after the 2019 season, Bradley after 2020.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 11, 2018
Sorry, I wrote Bradley is 1 yr from free agency that is incorrect. He is free after the 2020 season.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) December 11, 2018
These are just rumors and speculation, of course, so Red Sox fans should take this information with a heavy dose of salt.
Nevertheless, it appears the Red Sox aren’t looking to stand pat after winning the World Series.
