Hot stove season is officially here, and teams like the Boston Red Sox are surely going to be active in the player transaction market. It paid off for Boston last season when they traded for Garrett Crochet and signed Aroldis Chapman.
Those two moves helped propel the Red Sox to the MLB playoffs, where they were eliminated by the New York Yankees. In 2026, Boston is looking to take things a step further and may have to make meaningful trades to do so.
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Could the Red Sox trade for Twins' starter Joe Ryan?
If you remember back in July, the Red Sox were interested in trading for Minnesota Twins' starter Joe Ryan, but didn't end up reaching an agreement. Now that it's the offseason, it's time to revisit that idea.
MLBTradeRumors.com's Steve Adams recently came out with a big board of players with a chance to be traded this offseason, and Joe Ryan lands at No. 2 on the list:
"The Red Sox were strongly interested in Ryan at the deadline but reportedly didn’t want to part with a major league outfielder like Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu in those talks."
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Boston could certainly revisit that idea this offseason, but they'd likely have to give up a top-5 prospect, and maybe more.
Joe Ryan was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. He posted a 3.42 ERA in 171 innings and struck out 194 batters.
Ryan is also controllable through the 2027 season, which makes his trade value even higher, because Boston would be able to use him for two seasons before deciding on committing to him for the future.
If the Red Sox are serious about being in World Series contention next season, they must make a big splash like this to compete with other powerhouses in the American League.
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