The Boston Red Sox may look at a trade with the Mariners involving Yoenis Cespedes and Hisashi Iwakuma after the team signed Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, as they have a glut of outfielders and names like Allen Craig, Jackie Bradley, Shane Victorino or Cespedes could be moved to bring in some starting pitching for the franchise.
The Red Sox are poised to make a run after a down season in 2014 and they now have two strong offensive players to add to the lineup. According to Hardball Talk, the Red Sox may also spend on Jon Lester, which would be an unexpected but not surprising move after the team traded Lester this past season to the Athletics. ESPN.com reports that the team could be willing to pass the luxury tax threshhold to sign back Lester, who is a free agent and is one of the top players on the market.
The Red Sox signed Ramirez to a five year deal worth $90 million and they also added Sandoval on a five year deal worth $95 million deal to kick off the major part of the offseason. Sandoval spent his entire career with the San Francisco Giants, while Ramirez originally started his career in the Red Sox organization before being traded for Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell.
Sandoval won World Series MVP in 2012 and he has a .344 career batting average in the postseason and he now takes over at third base for the Sox. The team will use Ramirez in left field and that means they have a glut of outfielders and that means players like Allen Craig, Yoenis Cespedes or Jackie Bradley could be traded along with Shane Victorino. The Mariners need some offensive power and Cespedes could be an option, as rumors have circulated from Fox Sports and others that the teams have discussed a Cespedes for Hisashi Iwakuma deal.
Last season Cespedes was traded for Lester and now he could be flipped after going for 22 home runs and 100 RBIs last season. The Red Sox ended up 71-91 last season and that came after they won the World Series the previous year and now they look like one of the favorites in the AL and the division.
