Red Sox Have ‘Realistic’ Trade Package For $288.7 Million Superstar: Report

The Boston Red Sox may have the pieces necessary to make a blockbuster trade for Kansas City Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr., according to a new analysis.

And one proposed package suggests Boston could make a more credible run at the three-time All-Star than it might initially appear.

“The Red Sox might have a realistic package to send Kansas City,” wrote Jen McCaffrey in a Wednesday column for The Athletic. Whether Boston will part with the high level of talent required to land Witt is a different question, however, McCaffrey noted.

Five days remain before the Aug. 3 deadline. McCaffrey put the Royals’ asking price at Roman Anthony and Franklin Arias to start, with starters Payton Tolle and Anthony Eyanson likely joining them. Four players. Two of them among the best prospects in the sport. Arias, a shortstop, is ranked No. 7 on the Top 100 Prospects list by MLB Pipeline. Right-handed pitcher Eyanson is ranked No. 49.

Anthony, 22, hit .292 with a .396 on-base percentage across 71 games as a rookie last season and finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting before Boston handed him an eight-year, $130 million extension. He has been on the injured list since May with a torn tendon in his right ring finger and has not swung a bat since.

Witt has already done what Anthony is projected to do.

Red Sox Trade Packages for Bobby Witt Jr. Keep Growing

GettyIs Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals on the trade block?

The idea started on Boston sports radio. WEEI’s Rob Bradford floated Witt as the franchise cornerstone the Red Sox have lacked since David Ortiz, telling hosts Adam Jones and Rich Keefe that Witt is the kind of player who becomes “the centerpiece guy for an organization,” as quoted by FanSided writer Jake Elman. Bradford’s version sent Anthony and pitching prospect Kyson Witherspoon to Kansas City.

Fan proposals swelled from there, folding in Marcelo Mayer, Jarren Duran and Arias. None of it came from either front office.

The pushback arrived fast. On the “Baseball Is Dead” podcast, Jared Carrabis relayed what a source outside the Red Sox organization told him about Witt, saying of the former No. 2 overall draft pick, “he’s untradeable when you’re trying to move into a new stadium.” A gross overpay, the source said, would not change the answer.

Witt Jr. Contract Would Cost Red Sox Nine-Figure Sum

Kansas City locked Witt up in February 2024 on an 11-year, $288.7 million extension, the largest in franchise history, with a maximum value of $377.7 million if the club option covering 2035 through 2037 is exercised, per Spotrac. Witt earns $13 million this season. The salary climbs to $19 million in 2027, $30 million in 2028 and $35 million in each of the following years.

Boston would owe him $119 million from 2027 through 2030 alone, plus whatever remains of 2026. Player opt-outs open after 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033.

Witt’s deal includes a full no-trade clause, meaning no agreement between the clubs matters without his approval.

Witt is hitting .279 with 13 home runs, 39 RBIs and 30 steals this season, with 18 outs above average at shortstop, second-best in the majors. Kansas City has given no indication it intends to listen to offers for its superstar, but according to McCaffrey, the Red Sox have the players to make it worth asking.

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