The Boston Red Sox had been seeking to trade two right-handers, Zack Kelly and Eduardo Rivera. According to a league source who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about trade negotiations, the Red Sox made five players — Nate Eaton, Tsung-Che Cheng, Kelly, Rivera and Raymond Burgos — available to teams over the past week.
They were successful in finding takers for Cheng and Eaton. Still in need of roster spots, despite Sonny Gray, Patrick Sandoval and Isiah Kiner-Falefa hitting free agency, the Red Sox designated Kelly and Rivera for assignment on Monday, which marked not only the official start to free agency but a deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster who’d ended the year on the 60-day injured list.
For the Red Sox, that list included seven players: Kelly and Rivera, as well as Kutter Crawford, Triston Casas, Justin Slaten, Johan Oviedo and Eli White.
Kelly, 31, finished the season on the 60-day IL with elbow inflammation. He’d posted a 3.31 ERA in 17 appearances this season but spent most of the year at Triple A before elbow injuries cropped up. He was also out of options, making him a tougher fit.
Rivera, 23, appeared in four games for the Red Sox, allowing seven runs in 10 innings.
The moves on Monday, coupled with the trades last week, set up what should be a busy offseason for the Red Sox.
Key MLB dates
Nov. 9-12, GM Meetings in Las Vegas: Normally the GM Meetings set the stage for the Winter Meetings in December, when actual deals are expected to get done. But since the Winter Meetings are unlikely with the impending lockout, the GM Meetings are expected to carry a bit more urgency for teams and agents. Whether that translates to more deals getting done next week or in the days after the meetings remains to be seen. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is expected to meet with reporters next week to discuss offseason plans.
Nov. 17 (6 p.m.): Teams need to add minor leaguers eligible for the Rule 5 draft to 40-man rosters: The Rule 5 Draft typically takes place in December, but it may not this season with the lockout looming. Still, the Red Sox have a few players eligible for the Rule 5 draft they may consider protecting by adding them to the 40-man roster. That list includes outfielder Braiden Ward, catcher Johanfran Garcia and pitchers Blake Wehunt and Hayden Mullins.
Nov. 20, non-tender deadline: By 5 p.m. on Nov. 20, teams must tender contracts to unsigned team-controlled players. In essence, the deadline means the Red Sox will offer these players contracts, but the exact salaries are determined later, at some point before the arbitration deadline. Players not tendered contracts become free agents.
The Red Sox have a slew of players they need to make decisions on this offseason: Crawford, Casas, Oviedo, Slaten, White, Tanner Houck, Jarren Duran, Adley Rutschman, Romy Gonzalez, Connor Wong, Wilyer Abreu, Andruw Monasterio, Greg Weissert, Tyron Guerrero, Jahmai Jones and Erik Miller.
Some are obvious locks: Abreu, Rutschman and Houck. Others, like Duran, Casas and Weissert, have less certainty.
Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m., current CBA expires: Teams have until the end of Dec. 1 to make moves before the lockout begins, barring an unexpected early agreement between both sides on a new CBA. November could be more active than usual.
Thoughts on recent moves
Garrett Whitlock option exercised: It seemed like a fairly obvious move, but the Red Sox officially picked up Whitlock’s $8.25 million team option for 2027, securing him as the setup man ahead of closer Aroldis Chapman for another season.
Whitlock, 30, is coming off his second straight strong season as a full-time reliever after missing most of 2024 with an internal brace procedure. In 2025, Whitlock posted a 2.25 ERA in 62 appearances (72 innings) and followed that up this past season with an even stronger year, posting a 1.72 ERA in 54 appearances (52 1/3 innings) with a sterling 0.90 WHIP, a career-best 4.5 percent walk rate and a 29.8 percent strikeout rate.
Whitlock had signed a four-year, $18.75 million deal for the 2023-26 seasons with team options for 2027 and 2028. He pitched through a fractured right tibia at the end of the season and is currently in a walking boot but is expected to make a full recovery for the 2027 season.
As the Red Sox fill out the rest of the bullpen with new and existing options, a relief corps built around Chapman (whose option was secured earlier in the offseason) and Whitlock is already a good start.
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Bench depth takes a hit: The trades of two solid bench players, Eaton and Cheng, hurt on the periphery. But the presence of players like White and Monasterio, along with Nick Sogard, Gonzalez and Anthony Seigler, speaks to the club’s depth and ability to cut players on the margins. Still, as the Red Sox saw this season, depth is key and other minor-league moves to fill out the team will be made throughout the offseason.
Coaching changes: Last week, the Red Sox added a coach to their major-league staff by hiring Jason Bell, who’d spent the past 10 seasons with the Houston Astros organization. Bell will work as an outfield coach but is expected to take on other responsibilities, which may include serving as first- or third-base coach. In mid-October, the Red Sox reassigned first-base coach Pablo Cabrera to a defensive minor-league coaching role while making third-base coach Chad Epperson the manager of Triple-A Worcester.
Bell joined the major-league staff in Houston three years ago, but spent most of his time with the organization in player development, a hallmark of Houston’s winning seasons. Houston has long been a leader in developing homegrown players, some of whom have helped the team to its success over the last decade while others — like Abreu, traded to Boston in 2022 — were used to acquire major-league talent.
Breslow noted a need at the end of the season for the coaching staff to take “a development focus … because we do have a young core that we think is capable of taking the next step.”
It seems Bell fits that mold. He’ll have a Gold Glove group of outfielders to work with, but a key focus of his job will likely be working with Roman Anthony to strengthen his defense.
In other coaching and front-office news, the Philadelphia Phillies and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski hired former Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse and hitting strategy coach Joe Cronin. The Washington Nationals, now led by former Red Sox assistant general manager Paul Toboni, hired David Besky, who’d been Boston’s director of baseball sciences, to lead their pitching strategy.
Gold Glove trio
The Red Sox tied the Arizona Diamondbacks for the most Gold Gloves won by one team when Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Caleb Durbin earned their hardware on Sunday.
It marked the fifth season in team history in which three Red Sox players received a Gold Glove, and the first since 2018 (Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Ian Kinsler).
It was Abreu’s third straight Gold Glove in right field and Rafaela’s second consecutive in center. Durbin, who won his first Gold Glove, impressed this past season for playing third base despite a dislocated pinky finger that required reconstructive surgery at the end of the season.
The team also announced last week that Durbin had surgery on his right foot for an older injury that involved a fracture on the outer part of his foot, along with a tendon repair. He’s expected to be fully recovered from both surgeries by spring training.
