UPDATE (9:21 a.m.): ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports “The Boston Red Sox are acquiring third baseman Caleb Durbin in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, sources tell ESPN. Left-hander Kyle Harrison is headlining the three-player package headed back to Milwaukee.”
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A new day brings with it a new name on the radar of the Boston Red Sox as chief baseball Craig Breslow seeks a slugging infielder with spring training on the horizon.
“Multiple industry sources identified Brewers infielder Caleb Durbin as a potential Sox target,” the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reports. “The 25-year-old finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .256/.334/.387 with 11 homers, 18 steals, and solid defense at third (along with cameos at short and second).
However Durbin isn’t the only Rookie of the Year finalist catching Breslow’s eye. He remains connected to the Chicago Cubs’ Matt Shaw, who finished ninth for National League Rookie of the Year, according to Speier.
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“The Sox continue to explore trades with the Cubs about both Nico Hoerner and Massachusetts native Matt Shaw. Chicago is weighing whether to deal one of those players given a potential packed infield following the signing of (Alex) Bregman, or keeping both and making Shaw a super-utility option,” Speier notes.
“According to one source, the Sox are among the two or three most serious suitors for a Chicago infielder,” Speier adds.
“Shaw comes with six full seasons of team control, while Hoerner is eligible for free agency after 2026,” according to Speier. “But the Cubs could alter that short-term/long-term contrast by exploring an extension with Hoerner, who is valued in Chicago for both his on- and off-field contributions.”
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“The ideal acquisition would be a right-handed infielder who plays sharp defense and actually adds to the lineup,” the Boston Globe’s Tim Healey reports. “That type of player may well be a unicorn at this point in the offseason. The Cubs’ Nico Hoerner (strong defensively but an average track record at the plate) and Astros’ Isaac Paredes (a Fenway-friendly bat who doesn’t rate well defensively) are among the imperfect and probably expensive-in-a-trade candidates available to the Red Sox.”
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome report the Red Sox-Astros trade rumors are legit.
“In another sign that the Houston Astros are trying to lessen their infield surplus, the team had serious discussions about a three-way trade in which they would have sent Isaac Paredes to Boston and acquired utilityman Brendan Donovan,” the pair reports.
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“Donovan ultimately went from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Astros’ American League West rivals, the Seattle Mariners. The Red Sox, too, were shut out. Not only did they fail to land Paredes in the three-team deal, but a parallel attempt to acquire Donovan also sputtered, people familiar with the conversations said,” Rosenthal and Rome add.
“Boston remains one of at least five teams engaged with the Astros about Paredes, according to multiple league sources,” the duo note. “Another is the Pittsburgh Pirates, who need an upgrade at third base and tried unsuccessfully to sign free-agent Eugenio Suárez before his agreement with the Cincinnati Reds.”
One thing is certain: time is running out for Breslow to make a deal with Red Sox pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training this week in Fort Myers, Fla.
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