This post was originally published on this site.
The Red Sox have been pursuing a major lineup addition for weeks. On Sunday night, they landed one.
Boston acquired three-time All-Star Willson Contreras and cash from the Cardinals in a trade that sent righty Hunter Dobbins and pitching prospects Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita to the Cardinals, a source confirmed Sunday night. The Cardinals will pay $8 million of the remaining $41.5 million on Contreras’ contract, which goes through 2027 and includes a club option for 2028. Contreras had a full no-trade clause and waived it to come to Boston.
Contreras, a lifelong catcher who turns 34 in May, shifted to first base for the first time in his career in 2025 and hit .257 with 20 homers, 31 doubles, 80 RBIs and a .791 OPS in 135 games. The former Cub was last an All-Star in 2022 and will provide the Red Sox with an option at first base, designated hitter and potentially, an emergency catching option. Boston has been hesitant to commit to Triston Casas as the starting first baseman for 2026 as he completes his rehab from a torn patellar tendon in his knee, and it now appears Contreras will get the lion’s share of work at the position.
MassLive first reported the Red Sox’ interest in Contreras earlier this month. At the time, Boston was in talks with multiple teams about bats, including Houston’s Isaac Paredes, Arizona’s Ketel Marte and Contreras’ teammate Brendan Donovan. With Contreras in tow, the Red Sox are expected to continue pursuing offensive via free agency and trade. The Red Sox remain engaged with third baseman Alex Bregman about a return to Boston, as well, with club officials remaining hopeful — but not necessarily either optimistic or pessimistic — at this juncture. Marte has not been traded either, and the Red Sox remain with open questions at both second base and third base at the midway point of the offseason.
Contreras has two years left on the five-year, $87.5 million contract he signed with the Cardinals before the 2023 season, plus a reworked club option for 2028. Contreras is due to earn $18 million in 2026 and $18.5 million in 2027. According to The Athletic’s Katie Woo, Contreras’ slightly reworked deal calls for his 2028 club option to increase from $17.5 million to $20 million and the buyout on that deal to increase from $5 million to $7.5 million.
To add Contreras, the Red Sox continued a pattern of dealing young pitching in a package headlined by Dobbins, who impressed in an injury-shortened debut season in 2025, and Fajardo, who was one of Boston’s fastest-rising pitching prospects in the minors last year. Just like they did in another deal with St. Louis in which rotation candidate Richard Fitts and prospect Brandon Clarke were dealt for veteran Sonny Gray, the Red Sox dealt from their pool of young pitching depth to improve their chances in 2026.
Dobbins, 26, is expected to be ready for Opening Day after missing the second half of the season with a torn ACL he suffered in July. The former eighth-round pick looked likely to factor into the Sox’ rotation mix, but the club has felt more comfortable dealing from its pitching depth this winter, especially after adding Gray and Johan Oviedo to the mix via trades. Dobbins, who coincidentally debuted against the Cardinals during Boston’s first homestand of last season, posted a 4.13 ERA in 13 games (11 starts), striking out 45 batters in 61 innings.
After dealing Dobbins and Fitts while losing Cooper Criswell on waivers, the Red Sox have narrowed their pool of rotation candidates for 2026. Garrett Crochet, Gray and Brayan Bello are expected to form the veteran core while Oviedo, young lefties Connelly Early and Payton Tolle and returnees Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval compete for back-end spots.
Fajardo, who turned 19 in October, was a little-known pitching prospect when he was acquired from the White Sox for lefty reliever Cam Booser exactly one year ago. He then took a big jump across two levels during the regular season, dominating to a 2.25 ERA in 19 games (17 starts) across rookie ball and Single-A Salem. While Fajardo is still far from a finished product at age 19, his four-pitch mix was intriguing enough in 2025 for SoxProspects to rank him eighth in Boston’s system at the time of the deal.
Aita, 22, was Boston’s sixth-round pick out of Kennesaw State in 2024 and threw 115 ⅓ innings across two levels (Single-A Salem and High-A Greenville) in 2025, logging a 3.98 ERA. The righty was 36th on SoxProspects’ list.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the deal for Contreras.