As the Red Sox assess their bullpen for next year it’s becoming clear that some salaries need to be moved, and it’s rumored that Rick Porcello, Jackie Bradley Jr. or Xander Bogaerts could be on the trading block.
With the re-signing of Craig Kimbrel looking unlikely and Joe Kelly becoming a Dodger the future of the Red Sox bullpen is very much in limbo. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today this is something the Red Sox are looking to fix ASAP, even if it means trading away some players who were key in last years World Series run:
The Boston #Redsox, trying to clear salary space for bullpen help, are openly listening to offers on Rick Porcello, and rivals insist also are willing to talk about Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 11, 2018
Of the three mentioned in the tweet Porcello is the only one who has a locked in salary for the year. The Red Sox are slated to pay him just over $21 million in 2019, which is the final year of his four year contract. Bogaerts and Bradley are both arbitration eligible, so for the time being we can’t be positive what they’ll make; last year they were paid about $7 million and $6 million respectively.
Porcello is the most reliable and proven player of the trio, but because he’s in his walk year and has a large contract he also could be the hardest one to move. A possible destination that comes to mind for him is the Mets, who are in win now mode and could definitely afford to take on his contract. If their ace Noah Syndergard ends up getting dealt in some type of trade for J.T. Realmuto as is being discussed then it would be even easier to sell them on Porcello, who won the Cy in 2016 and led the Red Sox in starts and innings pitched last season.