MLB trade rumors: Miguel Cabrera to the Red Sox?

The Boston Red Sox need a power bat and the Tigers are heading toward a rebuild. Is trading for Miguel Cabrera the right move for the Sox?

Last week, Alex Rodriguez posed the idea of Dave Dombrowski and the Boston Red Sox going out and completing a blockbuster trade for Miguel Cabrera.

Though this happened last week, the trade deadline is fast approaching and time is dwindling down for Dombrowski to drop a bomb on the baseball world.

With regard to snagging Cabrera, Dombrowski is fully capable. Dombrowski has a history of having – and trading for – Cabrera while with the Florida Marlins and Detroit Tigers.

Now with the Red Sox, Dombrowski has the assets to make the move, and it would make sense for both sides. The Red Sox would finally get that much-needed all-around bat they’ve been lacking since David Ortiz‘s retirement. The Tigers would begin their rebuild with a plethora of the Red Sox’ best prospects and major leaguers.

The question comes down to whether or not making that trade is worth it for the Red Sox.

And the answer is no.

For one, the contract is enormous. They would owe him $184 million over the next six years and he’s 34 years old. Cabrera is guaranteed to be under contract through his age-40 season in 2023.

The Red Sox have dished out enough dead money over the past few years (cough, cough, Pablo Sandoval and Rusney Castillo) so it’s really not worth the chance of repeating that whole process again.

On top of that, Cabrera is having his worst season since he was a 20-year-old on the Marlins back in 2003. He only has 12 home runs with 47 RBI. His batting average sits at .262, which would be the lowest of his career and a clear cliff-drop from last year when he batted .316.

It looks, feels and even smells like a clear decline. Therefore, Cabrera has peaked and is entering the final stages of his career.

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His decline would be a point Dombrowski could use to bring the price down in order to get Cabrera. Nonetheless, the Red Sox would still have to pay his absurd contract.

To get Cabrera, the Red Sox would have to give up a hefty sum of gold. Along with top prospects third baseman Rafael Devers and pitcher Jason Groome, the Red Sox would have to give up one, maybe even two, of the B-squad (Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Mookie Betts). Those four are the future of the Red Sox and each have their own special value to the team.

With Benintendi, Bradley and Betts, the Red Sox have their outfield locked up for a long time with great offensive and defensive production.

It’s so hard to find good talent at shortstop in Major League Baseball, so Bogaerts shouldn’t be dealt away for anything. Bogaerts hits for contact, gets on base and is great defensively. There’s no reason to give him away for an aging superstar.

Another factor to consider is that whether the Red Sox trade for Cabrera or not, they will still have to pay out a lot of money.

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All four will be due for very large contracts at the start of the next decade. The Red Sox will have to pick and choose who they will want to give the most money to. If they wanted to avoid paying all four and trade one or two away in this particular deal, they would still have to pay a lot of money – it’s just that this time, it would be for a declining superstar in his mid-30s.

Though trading for Cabrera would help the Red Sox this season, it would seriously hurt the team’s future.

And I mean really hurt it.