Sonny Gray just handed the Red Sox an opening. He told the Globe’s Alex Speier he still wants to win a World Series, “whether that is [with] Boston or with whoever wants me.” That’s about as close to a green light as a guy heading into free agency gives a team before anyone’s made him an actual offer.
So far, the Red Sox front office has traded away a bench outfielder and signed a journeyman catcher to a minor-league deal.
That’s the entire offseason so far.
Craig Breslow’s first trade of the winter sent Nate Eaton to Oakland for 18-year-old right-hander Jareth Rayo, who posted a 5.50 ERA in 36 innings in the Dominican Summer League this year. Nobody’s losing sleep over Eaton, who hit .244 with two homers in two seasons in Boston. But put that trade next to what Gray just did: 18-5, a 2.72 ERA, 169 innings at age 36, the best year of his career by most measures. Boston let him walk toward a $10 million buyout while importing a teenager with a losing ERA in rookie ball.
First trade of the off-season. The Red Sox trade Nate Eaton to the Athletics
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 29, 2026
Some of this really is paperwork. The Red Sox need three more 40-man spots open before Monday to make room for seven guys coming off the 60-day IL, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Patrick Sandoval hitting free agency already frees up two on their own. Fine. None of that required shipping out Eaton for an unproven arm, and none of it explains the silence on Gray.
Gray struck out 149 batters against just 46 walks in those 169 innings, a 4.3 WAR season from a guy Boston keeps talking about like he’s replaceable depth. This isn’t the first time this front office has let an ace-caliber arm walk rather than commit to one, and it won’t be the last time fans point at the farm system and ask why a 36-year-old with a sub-3.00 ERA wasn’t worth a real offer before he hit the open market.
Riley Adams, the catcher Boston just signed to a minor-league deal, told Boston.com he’s looking for “an opportunity to earn my way to the big leagues.”
Good for him.
That’s a depth move for a bullpen catcher. It is not a signal that this front office is building around the guy who just carried its rotation.
This site tracked Gray’s Cy Young case back in August, when he looked like the best pitcher on a team with no real plan for him. Nothing about that has changed except his contract status. Whether Gray is still wearing a Red Sox uniform in 2027 is a question the front office gets to answer with its checkbook, and right now the checkbook hasn’t moved.
