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Boston Red Sox CBO Craig Breslow debated if he should buy or sell at the upcoming Trade Deadline.

The Boston Red Sox have been one of the worst teams in baseball this season, sitting at 31 wins in 75 games.

A lot of trade buzz in recent weeks has been connected to Boston, where the team has several valuable trade chips. Aroldis Chapman, Sonny Gray and Jarren Duran are obvious candidates.

However, despite many saying their first baseman is off limits, MLB insider Robert Murray urged the team to trade Willson Contreras on Monday on “The Baseball Insiders” Podcast.

While Contreras was just acquired this past offseason and is doing quite well with his new team, the trade value may be too high to pass up on.

Would the Boston Red Sox Trade Contreras?

The Chicago Cubs signed Contreras as an international free agent from Venezuela in 2009.

He would debut with the club in June of 2016, immediately becoming an instrumental piece in their championship team.

In seven years with the Cubs, Contreras made three All-Star Games as a catcher and hit 117 home runs. In 2022, he signed with their hated rival, the St. Louis Cardinals, spending three seasons there.

Then, after the 2025 season, the Boston Red Sox acquired Contreras in exchange for Hunter Dobbins and prospects.

While with the Boston. he has been sensational. Since he became the Red Sox first baseman, Contreras is on pace for career highs across the board.

Through 73 games, Contreras has hit 16 home runs with a career high .903 OPS. He has been Boston’s best position player on the roster by far. No other Red Sox starter has above an .800 OPS.

While he’s been their best hitter, the Red Sox have reason to trade him, according to Murray.

“I think Willson Contreras, you have to try to take advantage of that,” Murray said. “That would be a guy I would look to move if I was the Red Sox. See what exactly you can get in return for him, but I think he would end up getting them something nice in return.”

Should They Trade Him?

While Boston’s offense has been awful to start the 2026 season, it’s possible that Contreras could net some serious capital.

There are many teams that need a first baseman right now, especially one that is performing as well as Contreras. In addition, Contreras won’t be a free agent until after the 2027 season with a 2028 team option.

The control and production should excite potential trade partners.

There is really no reason to hold onto him at this point. Although Boston is not mathematically eliminated yet (no team is), their odds of coming back from a 14.5 game division deficit are slim to none.

While there has been much parity in the American League and the Red Sox are six games out of the Wild Card, it would be hard to imagine that Boston would leapfrog all those teams ahead of them.

Even if they get hot (which there is absolutely no guarantee of), why would they hold onto their best asset?

With the Red Sox likely to trade most of their star players like Chapman, Gray and Duran, why not do a full-on firesale?

If the Red Sox do indeed trade him, expect a full rebuild under Craig Breslow in what has been a lost season.