The Red Sox Couldn't Swing a Trade by 5 p.m., So Zack Kelly and Eduardo Rivera Got DFA'd. Now the 40-Man Is Full and the Lockout Clock Says Dec. 1
Casas, Crawford, Oviedo, Slaten and White came off the 60-day IL. Sonny Gray took his $10 million buyout. And Jarren Duran, after a .207 season, is projected to get a raise to $11.1 million.
Monday at 5 p.m. was the deadline for the Red Sox to bring everybody back from the 60-day injured list onto the 40-man roster, and they needed two spots. They'd already traded Nate Eaton and Tsung-Che Cheng to open the offseason. The plan, per BoSox Injection, was more small trades. The plan didn't happen.
So Boston designated two relievers for assignment: right-hander Zack Kelly and right-hander Eduardo Rivera, per the club's announcement and BoSox Injection.
<h3>Who left</h3>
Kelly has been in the organization since 2021, debuted in 2022, and threw 131 1/3 innings for Boston. This season: a 3.31 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 14 strikeouts and seven walks over 16 1/3 innings before being optioned to Triple-A Worcester on May 22. He landed on the 60-day IL with elbow inflammation in July and didn't pitch again. He was out of minor league options, BoSox Injection noted.
Rivera signed a minor league deal midway through 2024 and reached Triple-A for the first time this year, posting a 2.96 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 27 walks over 45 2/3 innings for the WooSox. In four big-league appearances, three as an opener, he allowed seven runs on eight hits over 10 innings. He finished the season on the 60-day IL with a lumbar strain. MassLive's Chris Cotillo reported hearing of 'league interest' in Rivera.
<h3>Who came back</h3>
Boston activated Triston Casas, Kutter Crawford, Johan Oviedo, Justin Slaten and Eli White from the 60-day IL, per BoSox Injection. The club's release listed the resulting 40-man roster: 20 pitchers, including Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello, Aroldis Chapman, Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle and Garrett Whitlock; seven infielders, including Casas, Willson Contreras, Caleb Durbin, Curtis Mead and Trevor Story; and seven outfielders, including Roman Anthony, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida.
The 40-man is now packed. If Craig Breslow wants to sign a free agent or make a trade before the lockout, somebody else has to go.
<h3>The lockout clock</h3>
The collective bargaining agreement expires at midnight as Dec. 1 becomes Dec. 2, and many in the industry expect a lockout at that moment, The Boston Globe reported. The Globe's Alex Speier found that in past CBA years, the Sox slow-played big spending until the new rules were set.
The Globe's read is that the roster has no gaping holes, helped by the fact that everyone Breslow added at the trade deadline is under control for 2027: catcher Adley Rutschman, lefty setup man Erik Miller and fourth outfielder Eli White.
<h3>The Gray hole</h3>
The biggest loss is already official. Sonny Gray is a free agent after Boston declined his mutual option and paid a $10 million buyout, the Globe reported. Gray was the team's best pitcher in 2026: a 2.72 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over 29 starts and 169 innings. That's a lot of innings to replace, even if Crochet is healthy.
The Globe floated the obvious local name: Michael King, a Rhode Islander and Boston College product, is a free agent again, this time without a qualifying offer attached.
<h3>The middle infield</h3>
Story is entering the final year of his six-year, $140 million deal and is due $25 million. Mead might end up at DH. Top prospect Franklin Arias hit 25 homers in the upper minors this year but played just 42 games at Triple-A, the Globe reported. That's a Plan A and a Plan B, and none of it is a sure thing.
<h3>The Duran question</h3>
Jarren Duran hit .207 with a .627 OPS in 2026, and the Globe reported he behaved inappropriately toward fans near the dugout on multiple occasions and showed up Contreras and third-base coach Chad Epperson after a routine fly out. MLB Trade Rumors projects his arbitration salary at $11.1 million, up from $7.7 million. The options, per the Globe: non-tender him, tender and trade him, or tender and keep four outfielders for three spots.
<h3>Dez's take</h3>
Missing a trade window on two fringe relievers isn't a scandal. But it tells you the market for Boston's spare parts is thin, and the farm, after the Gray, Contreras, Mead and Rutschman deals, is thinner, as the Globe pointed out. The real decision is Duran. Paying $11 million to a guy coming off a .627 OPS and a year of dugout drama is a lot. Non-tendering a player with his tools is a lot too. I'd tender him and trade him before Dec. 1, while somebody still believes in 2024.
