The Boston Red Sox have yet to sign a starting pitcher, their biggest target this offseason, and they need to make a big splash. Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, Kenta Maeda, Sonny Gray, and Aaron Nola are off the market now, and the Red Sox may be all in on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, which they should be, but there will be at least ten teams in on him. There has been talk about a trade between the Red Sox and the White Sox that will send an ace and a bat to the Red Sox in exchange for prospects; the trade would be Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez to Boston for Jaren Duran, Nick Yorke, and Luis Perales. Boston and Chicago have been no strangers to trades as they did a deal back in 2016 In which the Red Sox got Chris Sale in exchange for Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe, and Victor Diaz; the trade worked out for the Red Sox as Sale helped them win the 2018 World Series could this trade do the same for Boston?
Trade Pieces By The Numbers
Dylan Cease
Cease in his career has made 123 starts, going 43-35 with a 3.83 ERA, a 3.86 FIP, a 1.1 HR/9, a 4.0 BB/9, and a 10.8 K/9. In 2023, he made 33 starts, going 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA, a 3.72 FIP, a 1.41 WHIP, a 1.0 HR/9, a 4.0 BB/9, and a 10.9 K/9. He finished second in American League Cy Young voting in 2022, losing to Justin Verlander by 113 points.
Eloy Jimenez
Jimenez has played five years with the White Sox and has slashed .275/.324/.487 with a .811 OPS; he has 77 doubles, two triples, 89 home runs, 275 RBI, 208 runs scored, and 116 walks. In 2023, he slashed .272/.317/.441 with a .758 OPS; he scored 23 doubles, 18 home runs, 64 RBI, 50 runs, and 30 walks. He finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2019 and won a Silver Slugger in 2020.
Jaren Duran
Duran had a breakout season in 2023 for the Red Sox as he slashed .295/.346/.482 with a .828 OPS; he had 34 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 40 RBI, 46 runs scored, 24 stolen bases, and 24 walks. In his career, he has slashed .258/.309/.420 with a .729 OPS; he has 51 doubles, seven triples, 13 home runs, 67 RBI, 86 runs scored, 33 stolen bases, and 42 walks.
Nick Yorke
Yorke is the Red Sox sixth-ranked prospect and was drafted 17th overall in the 2020 draft. During his time in the Red Sox system, he has slashed .276/.357/.441 with a .798 OPS; he has 55 doubles, 11 triples, 38 home runs, 168 RBI, 198 runs scored, 39 stolen bases, and 136 walks. In 2023, he played at Double-A Portland and slashed .268/.350/.435 with a .785 OPS; he had 25 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs, 61 RBI, 74 runs scored, 18 stolen bases, and 51 walks.
Luis Perales
Perales is the Red Sox tenth ranked prospect, and while in the Red Sox system, he has made 35 appearances, with 33 being starts going 4-9 with a 3.32 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, a 0.8 HR/9, a 5.0 BB/9, and an 11.9 K/9. In 2023, he pitched at Single-A Salem and High-A Greenville, making 21 starts combined, going 4-7 with a 3.91 ERA, a 1.41 WHIP, a 1.0 HR/9, a 5.0 BB/9, and an 11.5 K/9.
Bottom Line:
Red Sox fans, is this a trade you would make for the Red Sox? I like the idea of adding Cease and Jimenez, but I don’t know if they should give up Duran; he could be a piece that contributes to the teams’ success in the future. The Red Sox outfield is crowded, so an outfield piece will need to be involved if this trade were to go down; the Red Sox aren’t the only team in on Cease either, as the Atlanta Braves are another team rumored to be interested. It’ll be interesting to see what the Red Sox do over the next few weeks, especially at the Winter Meeting next week.
