Red Sox Floated As Trade Landing Spot For Cy Young Winner In Dream Deal
The Boston Red Sox need to make some massive moves in the coming months in order to continue progressing toward a World Series.
The Red Sox have talent a lot of big steps in the right direction this year, but the next few trade and free agency decisions could make or break the franchise. There's one dream trade the Red Sox could pursue, though it's unlikely.
FanSided's Wynston Wilcox recently listed the Red Sox has a potential trade destination for Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. Skubal is entering the final year of his contract in 2026, which could result in a trade if the Tigers aren't able to re-sign him.
Tarik Skubal's contract is slowly running out
"The Boston Red Sox need to make up for the Walker Buehler mistake from last winter. They brought him in to be the No. 2 behind Garrett Crochet and he was inconsistent and frustrating for much of the season," Wilcox wrote. "Adding Skubal would not only help the Red Sox forget about Buehler, but it will also help them avenge an early playoff exit to rival New York Yankees this October. The Red Sox had an interesting start to the 2025 season between the Rafael Devers drama, losing their starting first baseman to injury and then the fallout from abruptly trading Devers.
"All of that masked their pitching problem, which was headlined by Buehler’s shortcomings. Skubal can solve a lot of those problems. I think the Red Sox might have actually gotten better offensively once they moved past Devers, so in theory, they should still have some good bats returning. I’m sure they’ll be interested in adding some offensive depth as well, but giving Crochet a running mate is the easiest way to level this team up over the winter."
Any Skubal trade talk is purely speculative at this point. It could make sense for the Tigers to trade their ace, but given the fact that they're among the best teams in the American League, holding onto him in hopes of a World Series push makes more sense.
However, if they do use him as a trade chip, the Red Sox could be the perfect suitor. They have the prospect capital and young talent, like Marcelo Mayer or Kristian Campbell, to move in order to land Skubal. Either way, this idea lives in the dreams of fans right now. There's nothing to indicate it could come true, though the next six to eight months could change a lot.
Yankees Predicted to Re-Sign Top Reliever
Despite a rough end to a season that once was filled with promise for both the New York Yankees and Luke Weaver, it still makes plenty of sense for the two sides to come together and hammer out a new deal once the right-handed reliever hits free agency.
Yankees Insider Makes Prediction
NJ.com's Randy Miller believes that although Weaver ran into trouble in the postseason, he pitched well enough over parts of three seasons with the Yankees to warrant a new three-year deal from the club this offseason.
"Weaver’s first two postseason outings this year were atrocious, five runs over no innings, but he’s been the biggest bargain reliever in baseball for two years," Miller wrote. "He showed that he can be a reliable closer late into ’24 and again for a stretch this season. His year can be split up into two parts, before and after his hamstring strain. He had a 1.05 ERA in 24 outings prior to being shelved June 3, then a 5.31 ERA in 40 games after his June 20 return. Weaver wasn’t right in the second half, and he was tipping pitches in the playoffs, but he’s proved over a long enough sample size that he can pitch in New York.
Weaver's 2025 Season
The 31-year-old was well-positioned to make the first All-Star team of his career this season with a 1.05 ERA over 25 2/3 innings until he suffered a hamstring strain that resulted in a trip to the injured list in early June.
Weaver was activated from the IL later that month, but he recorded a 5.31 ERA across 40 outings and 39 frames in the regular season after making his return.
During the playoffs, Weaver gave up five earned runs over three appearances and just 1/3 of an inning.
Reunion Makes Sense
Despite his numbers declining significantly as the year went along, bringing back Weaver is a perfectly sensible move for the Yankees. The 32-year-old was incredible during the club's World Series run in 2024, pitching to a 1.76 ERA over 15 1/3 playoff frames, and he logged a 3.22 ERA in 129 games totaling 162 innings over parts of three regular seasons with them.
Spotrac currently projects Weaver to earn an average annual salary of $9.9 million over two years on the open market, which would make him the 11th highest-paid reliever in the league.
