The Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates have become frequent trade partners in recent seasons. Boston and its former general manager Ben Cherington, now in charge in Pittsburgh, have swapped Enmanuel Valdez for minor league pitcher Joe Vogatsky, Nick Yorke for Quinn Priester and Jhostynxon Garcia for Johan Oviedo.
The Red Sox will seemingly give former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom — current president of baseball operations with the St. Louis Cardinals — the same treatment. Craig Breslow traded for Cardinals starter-turned-reliever Steven Matz at the 2025 trade deadline and made a shocking deal for starter Sonny Gray early in the 2025-26 offseason.
The Red Sox have also expressed interest in infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan, and another St. Louis trade candidate seems to have entered their sights. According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Boston has checked in on Cardinals catcher/first baseman Willson Contreras.
As PBO of the Cardinals, Chaim Bloom has been thrust into orchestrating another rebuild, and many players are on the table as trade candidates, including Contreras and Nolan Arenado. Contreras could actually be a good fit for some of Boston’s needs.
Red Sox linked to Willson Contreras, another Cardinals player, in trade talks
Contreras has been primarily a catcher throughout his 10-year MLB career, but he took up first base in St. Louis last season. The Red Sox made a weak offer to Pete Alonso in hopes to bring him in as an upgrade at first base, and Contreras could fill that role with more defensive success and versatility than Alonso. Contreras posted six outs above average at the corner and his range ranked in the 91st percentile. He’s most well known as a catcher, but he’s also appeared in the outfield 39 times in his career and at third base twice.
Contreras is a good hitter, but he strikes out quite a bit and doesn’t have the power in his bat that the Red Sox should’ve added with Alonso. Contreras’ whiff and strikeout percentages ranked in the 23rd and 24th percentiles, respectively in 2025. He also doesn’t walk much with a rate just below the league average.
The 33-year-old could still suit the Red Sox as a right-handed hitter with some pop, though. He batted .257/.344/.447 with a .791 OPS, 31 doubles, a triple and 20 home runs in 135 games last season. He probably wouldn’t become Boston’s home run leader, but it’s hard to complain about an extra 20-25 homers in the lineup (unless you wanted Alonso or Rafael Devers, who would’ve contributed 30-40).
Contreras has two years remaining on his contract with a club option for a third. He could help shore up the Sox’s corner infield defense while Triston Casas finds his way in the major leagues while adding another righty hitter to the lineup for a reasonable price. If the Red Sox can’t find a true slugger to get them 30 additional home runs a year, Contreras could be a decent backup option for them.
