The Boston Red Sox traded for an elite arm, signed a late rotation addition and acquired and stashed another depth pitcher to shore up their rotation this offseason. The team also discussed a few more trades that never came to be.
Boston’s negotiations with the Seattle Mariners were widely reported, and the latest news suggests Seattle refused to take on Masataka Yoshida’s salary as part of a Luis Castillo trade that never materialized. The Red Sox also chatted about a potential pitcher trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Alex Speier of The Boston Globe shared in a Dec. 23 story that Boston checked in on the Pirates’ young righty Jared Jones during Winter Meetings. Speier didn’t reveal the extent of the teams’ discussions, but the groundwork for a potential deal could be there to revisit in the future.
Jones, 23, posted a 4.14 ERA over 121.2 innings with Pittsburgh last season. He clocked 132 strikeouts for a rate of 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings and 39 walks in his rookie season in the newly-scary Pirates rotation, which also features National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes.
Red Sox checked in on potential trade for young Pirates pitcher Jared Jones during Winter Meetings.
Jared Jones just threw one of nastiest pitches you will see all season. 😮 pic.twitter.com/mDYibaevZe
— MLB (@MLB) April 22, 2024
The Red Sox signed Walker Buehler and Patrick Sandoval to short-term deals of one and two years, respectively. Lucas Giolito signed a two-year contract with Boston last year with a vesting option for a potential third year in 2026, but he’s a definite free agent by 2027. Jones is under team control until 2030, so the Pirates have plenty of time to see the full extent of his skillset in the big leagues, but they don’t have the spending history to believe they’ll extend both he and Skenes.
Boston and Pittsburgh became frequent trade partners in 2024. The teams exchanged infield prospect Nick Yorke and young pitcher Quinn Priester at the trade deadline and infielder Enmanuel Valdez for minor league arm Joe Vogatsky in December. The teams’ recent friendship could bode well for another deal in the future.
The Red Sox have plenty of top-tier offensive prospects and talent that has already reached the big leagues to help the Pirates bolster their offense in a winnable NL Central. Pittsburgh needs help in right field, above all, and Boston has quite an outfield logjam coming in the next few seasons, with Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida, Rob Refsnyder, Roman Anthony and more prospects all vying for the same playing time. The latest rumors about the Sox’s interest in Jones may not be the last we hear about potential partnerships between them and the Pirates.
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