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Red Sox

It appears that Duncan will serve as either the first base or the third base coach on Chad Tracy’s staff. Since his playing career ended in 2014, Duncan has managed in the D-backs system, served as the Blue Jays’ field coordinator and worked as an analytics coordinator with the White Sox. He took over as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s manager four years ago.

Rivera was designated for assignment on Monday so the Red Sox could get down to their 40-man roster limit. It makes some sense that the Cardinals would want him, since Chaim Bloom used to be the chief baseball officer in Boston and still has connections to personnel there. Rivera is a 23-year-old with a big fastball, but he will now be on his third organization and has yet to establish consistent production. It’s not a bad gamble for the Cardinals to take. Garcia is an 18-year-old right-hander who pitched to a 4.40 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 39/10 K/BB ratio in 43 innings in the Dominican Summer League this year.

Kelly had a 3.31 ERA in 16 1/3 innings last season before missing the second half with elbow inflammation. The 31-year-old has a career ERA of 4.04 in 131 1/3 innings since debuting with Boston in 2022.

Another feather in the cap for MLB Pipeline’s 2nd-ranked prospect. Arias hit .323/.400/.557 with 25 home runs, 91 RBI, and nine steals in 117 games across Double-A and Triple-A. He will turn 21 years old later this month, but Arias is making a real case to be in the mix as the Red Sox’s starting shortstop next season.

Abreu has won all three years since becoming Boston’s right fielder. The other AL Gold Glove winners were P Tanner Bibee, C Dillon Dingler, 1B Christian Walker, 2B Cole Young, SS Taylor Walls, LF Cody Bellinger and UT Ezequiel Duran. The win by Walls snaps Bobby Witt Jr.'s two-year streak at shortstop.

There had been some rumblings that the Red Sox could be working on a long-term extension with the 30-year-old right-hander, but there were never any doubts that he would return to be a major part of the Red Sox’ bullpen in 2027. Whitlock was outstanding over 54 appearances in 2026, registering a 1.72 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and a 59/9 K/BB ratio over 52 1/3 innings while notching seven victories and four saves.

Gray gets a $10 million buyout for declining the option, so this was always the way it was going to go down. The Red Sox figure to have considerable interest in bringing him back, but he’ll be very popular around the league.

The deal won’t be made official until the Tigers clear the requisite room on their 40-man roster which could take a day or two. Cheng, 25, appeared in 14 games with the Red Sox in 2026, slashing .256/.318/.282 with zero homers and five RBI in 44 plate appearances. He’ll add infield depth for the Tigers.

Eaton, who turns 30 in December, was just 8-for-50 with one homer for the Red Sox last season, dropping his career line to .221/.294/.307 in 328 plate appearances. He is, however, a very good defensive outfielder, and a nice asset on the basepaths. He can also fill in at third base when needed. He fits fine as a 26th man who gets occasional starts against lefties.

Eaton was going to be bumped from Boston’s 40-man anyway, so it’s nice that the Red Sox got something for him. The 18-year-old Rayo had a 5.50 ERA and a 36/20 K/BB in 36 innings while mostly serving as a starter in the Dominican Summer League last season.