A Bold Offseason Move For The Blue Jays And Their AL East Rivals

The Red Sox were one of the biggest surprises in all of baseball last season.  After going 24-36 and making almost no additions this past offseason, the Bo Sox somehow managed to entirely flip the script, winning 92 games in baseball’s toughest division, which secured them a playoff berth.  This offseason, Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom may have to do a little more work than last winter, to ensure there is no regression from his squad, proving that last season wasn’t a fluke.

Despite having one of the most well-rounded lineups in all of baseball, the Red Sox have struggled to find production from their first baseman on a consistent bases.  Former top prospect Bobby Dalbec has struggled to find his footing at the big league level, and though Kyle Schwarber gave the team a boost offensively after being acquired at last season trade deadline, he struggled playing out of position, looking out of sorts at first base.  With Schwarber hitting the open market this winter, it may be time for the Sox to look for a permanent solution at first base, enter the Oakland A’s.

The A’s could be approaching an extremely busy time for their organization.  ESPN’s Bob Nightengale reported that the team is looking to reduce their salary to 50 million dollars next season, and there have been reports that the club is willing to listen to trade offers surrounding almost all of their key assets, including All Star first baseman Matt Olson.

Olson would be a fantastic addition to this Red Sox’s squad.  The former All Star was quietly one of the best offensive players in all of baseball last season, hitting .271, with 39 long balls and a very impressive .911 OPS.  Olson is also a premiere defender at first base.  Since 2019, the Georgia native has posted an outs above average rating of 4 and has saved three runs, 4th best amongst qualified first baseman in both categories.

After putting a rough shortened 2020 season behind him, and proving his offensive breakout in 2019 wasn’t a fluke, the A’s appear to be looking to maximize the 27 year olds trade value this winter.  Olson will have plenty of suitors looking to bring him on board and though Boston by no means has a great farm system, I believe that they have enough prospect capital to entice Oakland to send them their star first baseman

It would make a ton of sense for the Red Sox to include top prospect Triston Casas in this potential deal.  Casas projects as a first baseman, but if Olson is brought on board it would create a difficult path for the youngster to find regular playing time at the big league level.  Sending him to the A’s would give Oakland a cheap, controllable replacement for Olson to build around during their pending rebuilding stage, and provide the youngster with consistent at-bats.

Along with Casas, the Red Sox could include one their mid tear prospects, such as Nick Yorke, their 2020 first round selection, who hit .325 across A ball and High A at just 19 years of age last season, or Gilberto Jimenez, a speedy outfielder who’s slashed .324 across three minor league seasons.

Trading away a couple of highly rated prospects from a weak farm system would be a tough pill to swallow from Boston’s standpoint.  Despite this, the thought of adding Olson to a lineup that already consists of star players such as Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and Alex Verdugo may be enough to sway Bloom into making this bold move.

In return, the A’s would be receiving a 22 year old first baseman, that is a consensus top 100 prospect to replace Olson, in addition to another top 10 prospect in Boston’s system.

The Yankees have been a popular name linked to Olson in recent weeks.  However, it’s been reported that they are not willing to include top prospect’s Anthony Volpe or Oswald Peraza in a deal with Oakland.  Boston may have just enough from a prospect standpoint to hammer out a deal for Olson and because of this, I think they are a surprise team that has the ability to out bid their arch rivals for the underrated first baseman.