Chris Cotillo: Why Red Sox made four trades, two cuts Tuesday — and what it means

Craig Breslow woke up and chose chaos Tuesday, which was the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster in order to protect them from next month’s Rule 5 draft. Instead of making a move or two around the edges, the Red Sox made four trades, added three minor league pitchers to the roster and cut two notable contributors by designating them for assignment.

If you missed it, the four deals sent reliever Luis Guerrero to Tampa Bay for infielder Tristan Gray, lefty Chris Murphy to the White Sox for catcher Ronny Hernandez, lefty Brennan Bernardino to Colorado for infielder/outfielder Braiden Ward and minor league righty Alex Hoppe to the Mariners for catching prospect Luke Heyman. Boston opened spots to add pitchers Shane Drohan, David Sandlin and Tyler Uberstine to the 40-man roster and also designated first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and righty Josh Winckowski for assignment.

What does it all mean? Here are five thoughts:

1) The Red Sox really need to add left-handed relief help

This was already a need for Boston entering the winter with veterans Steven Matz and Justin Wilson, who pitched high-leverage innings late in the season, entering free agency. Now, the group has been depleted even more significantly with the trades of Bernardino and Murphy, who both pitched well in 2025. Not including closer Aroldis Chapman, who will pitch the ninth inning again next season, the Red Sox don’t have much left when it comes to left-handed relief options on the roster.

Surprisingly, lefty Jovani Morán has survived the roster crunch to this point and remains a candidate to pitch meaningful innings. The Sox also have a handful of lefties who will compete for rotation spots but could be downshifted to short-relief roles if the Sox feel like that role fits them better. That group includes Kyle Harrison, Drohan, and in less likely scenarios, the trio of Connelly Early, Payton Tolle and Patrick Sandoval.

Expect the Red Sox to add a southpaw or two in the mold of what Wilson was last year when the club signed him to a one-year, low money deal in November. The free agent options are plentiful and include Wilson, Matz, Hoby Milner, Sean Newcomb (yes, him), Caleb Thielbar, Danny Coulombe, Gregory Soto, Caleb Ferguson, Taylor Rogers and others. Trades are another possibility here.

Bernardino, Matz, Murphy and Wilson combined to pitch 156 ⅓ relief innings for the Sox last year. Now, all are gone.

2) Organizational pitching depth is in a good spot

In previous years, the Red Sox had simpler decisions to make this time of year because there were easy calls at the end of the roster. For example, last year, it was Bryan Mata and Isaiah Campbell who lost their spots at this deadline. Now, the moves are getting tougher, as evidenced by the Red Sox moving on from four pitchers they like in Bernardino, Guerrero, Murphy and Winckowski to protect a trio of young arms.

Sandlin is a good prospect who was a lock to be added to the 40-man. Drohan and Uberstine, however, were not locks. The Red Sox wouldn’t have added them if they didn’t think they’d have a real chance of being plucked in the Rule 5. It’s impressive, in itself, that Red Sox pitchers who are not at all considered blue-chippers are in that boat. Seattle clearly was high enough on Hoppe to move on him now, adding him to the 40-man roster after the trade.

For years, the Red Sox have tried to balance a farm system that had too many good position players and not enough pitching prospects. Now, the decisions are starting to go the other way. Moving Quinn Priester in April was the first sign, and Tuesday was a continuation. Four pitchers (Bernardino, Guerrero, Hoppe and Murphy) were traded for two utility types and two minor league catchers. That’s not a coincidence. There’s more pitching talent in the system than there has been in years.

Breslow, two years into his tenure, deserves credit for having pitchers — including plenty of guys who aren’t big names — that teams think are big leaguers.

One more note: It’s no coincidence that some of the early offseason moves have been aimed at adding catching help. Carlos Narváez clearly projects as a good long-term big league option but the cupboard was very bare behind him. According to SoxProspects, the Red Sox entered the winter with zero catching prospects in the top 30. Heyman and Hernandez are already in the mix to be the best catching prospects in a system that boasts Johanfran Garcia — and not much else.

3) The utility competition is getting crowded

One could argue that the Red Sox already had too many versatile, fringy utility types on the roster with Nick Sogard, Nate Eaton, David Hamilton, Vaughn Grissom (and in a different boat, Kristian Campbell) all in the mix. It’s clear, then, that there’s something that really intrigued them about Gray, who can play all over the diamond and has some pop but has not established himself as a big-leaguer entering his age-30 season.

The addition of Gray — and of Ward, who will certainly be a non-roster invitee — may signal that someone else in that group could lose his spot soon. Eaton and Sogard started playoff games out of necessity but aren’t long-term solutions. Grissom is an ideal change-of-scenery candidate and could be moved in a minor trade while he still has at least some value. It’s fair to wonder how many chances Hamilton will get. As the roster gets tighter, there are going to be fewer spots for players who represent depth. It’s unlikely all these players are with the Sox when camp breaks in February.

4) Brennan Bernardino’s contributions should not be discounted.

When Chaim Bloom claimed Bernardino off waivers from Seattle in April 2023, the lefty was a 31-year-old with just 2 ⅓ major league innings under his belt. From there, Bernardino gave the Red Sox 153 ⅓ innings of 3.46 ERA over 169 games, pitching at least 55 times in each of the last three years. He got outs in some big spots, too.

The affable Bernardino, whose story has been well-documented, was fun to be around because he enjoyed every single day he spent in the majors and never took one for granted. He was an important piece, too, over the last three years and a solid player who always seemed to fly under the radar. The Red Sox got a lot out of what looked to be a minor claim at the time.

Bernardino and Murphy will likely have important, solidified roles on the Rockies and White Sox, who are both expected to be bad teams in 2026.

5) Friday’s non-tender deadline is setting up to be an uneventful day

The Red Sox entered the winter with nine arbitration-eligible players. They’ve already signed Jarren Duran to a new deal, traded Bernardino and cut bait with Lowe and Winckowski. That leaves five: Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Romy Gonzalez, Connor Wong and Triston Casas.

Sources said Monday Houck is expected to be tendered and the other four players are all projected (by MLBTradeRumors’ respected model) to earn between $1.7 million and $2.75 million in arbitration. They’re all worth keeping around at that price. Wong could be considered a non-tender candidate if the Red Sox want to improve their backup spot but that seems unlikely after Breslow gave him a vote of confidence last week.

Lowe and Winckowski will become free agents Friday, free to sign with any team. They’re both likely to find new teams but the Red Sox could circle back to Lowe late in the winter as Casas insurance should their pursuit of a high-value first baseman fall flat.