Insider: Red Sox Will Trade Outfielder, But Maybe Not Right Away

Are the Boston Red Sox going to trade one of their starting outfielders at the Jul. 31 deadline?

At first glance, having Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and Jarren Duran all competing for playing time seems like a potential issue. All of them deserve to start on a big league roster, yet necessarily, one is likely to be on the bench in every single game.

Duran's name has been everywhere in trade rumors, with the San Diego Padres playing the aggressors, and Abreu's name occasionally gets mentioned as well. But one insider says it's not inevitable that a deal comes to fruition. Or more accurately, not yet.

On Wednesday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive called an eventual outfield trade inevitable, but said it wouldn't necessarily make sense to do so before the deadline, considering how talented all those players are and how unlikely it would be to get back players who could help win now.

"It’s easy for armchair GMs (and yes, those of us who cover the team) to look at the crowded outfield mix and assume a trade is a fait accompli. Long-term, it surely is. But for a team that wants to make a playoff push, is the club better or worse without Duran or Wilyer Abreu on the club?" Cotillo asked.

"Worse, for sure, assuming that a magical deal for a big league starter doesn’t come together before the 31st. There’s a very slim chance someone in the Duran-Abreu-Ceddanne Rafaela-Roman Anthony group doesn’t get hurt by the end of the season and therefore the Red Sox can enjoy the luxury of the depth they’ve amassed for a two-month stretch. And while they’re playing on an every-game-matters basis, having a proven big-leaguer as a pinch-hitting option is something any manager would sign off on."

However, Cotillo certainly seemed to indicate his belief that if one of those outfielders isn't traded in the next two weeks, it will happen this winter.

"The Red Sox wanted to move on from (Rafael) Devers and were going to take the best offer if it made sense for them. The situation with the outfielders is different. There’s a real case to be made that waiting until the offseason, when all 30 teams are theoretical contenders and willing to get creative, makes the most sense. There won’t be a deal for the sake of making a deal here," Cotillo concluded.

Red Sox fans have been itching to know what the final form of this roster looks like, but from the position player side, the moves might be done for this year.