Red Sox Next Steps After Winning Willson Contreras Sweepstakes

The Boston Red Sox have taken a lot of heat over the last few weeks, but they took a positive step on Sunday night.

Boston and the St. Louis Cardinals reportedly agreed to terms of a trade to bring three-time All-Star Willson Contreras to the organization in exchange for a package headlined by Hunter Dobbins. ESPN’s Jeff Passan broke the news.

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"Full trade, per ESPN sources: Red Sox get: 1B Willson Contreras and $8 million to cover part of his remaining $41.5 million in salary," Passaon wrote on X on Sunday. "Cardinals get: RHP Hunter Dobbins, RHP Yhoiker Fajardo and RHP Blake Aita."

It was a very good move, but there's still more work to do if the Red Sox want to be among the top overall contenders in baseball in 2026.

The Red Sox are trending up

Next Steps For Boston

Alex Bregman

If you've been following along with the organization this offseason, you had to see this one coming. His fit with the club was perfect in 2025 and could be even better in 2026. If you plug in Bregman at third base, the Red Sox would have a very solid infield along with Contreras at first base, Marcelo Mayer at second base, and Trevor Story at shortstop. The defensive floor of the team immediately rises with Contreras in the mix and bringing Bregman back would make the group elite.

Now that Contreras is in the fold, the Red Sox arguably just need one more bat and Bregman should be the guy. He would provide pop in the middle of the lineup, elite defense, and is a veteran leader the club needs still.

Trade Candidates

The Red Sox already have swung three separate big trades by acquiring Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo, and now Contreras. What makes these deals more impressive is the fact that Boston got all three done without including their biggest trade candidates like Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Payton Tolle, or Connelly Early. Now, Triston Casas can at least be mentioned in that group as well. We have seen three trades so far, but there very well could be more to come.

Where the Red Sox stand

The Red Sox look like they can be a very solid team on paper. The Red Sox's rotation has been addressed with two high-upside hurlers. Boston has a three-time All-Star slugger over at first base right now. Plus, someone who is just going to get better in Roman Anthony. As constructed, this Red Sox team can make some noise and be a playoff team. But they still need more to compete with teams like the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers.

More MLB: Where Alex Bregman Stands After Red Sox, Willson Contreras Trade