By Katie Woo, Will Sammon, Jen McCaffrey and Ken Rosenthal
The Boston Red Sox added a needed right-handed bat to their lineup on Sunday, acquiring first baseman Willson Contreras from the St. Louis Cardinals.
In return, the Red Sox are sending right-hander Hunter Dobbins to St. Louis in addition to minor-league pitchers Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita, as well as cash, multiple league sources told The Athletic. Contreras, 33, who signed a five-year, $87.5 million deal in 2023, has two years and $41.5 million remaining on his contract, with an $18 million salary in 2026 and $18.5 million in 2027. In addition, he will receive $1 million for agreeing to waive his full no-trade clause to go to Boston, who will hold a team option for 2028 at a $20 million salary with a $7.5 million buyout.
In 135 games last season, Contreras hit .257 with a .791 OPS, 20 homers and 31 doubles. Though not the strong power bat the Red Sox have said they’re targeting this offseason, Contreras has been a solid hitter, averaging 20 homers over the last four seasons with a career 118 OPS+.
A catcher for most of his career, Contreras transitioned to first base last season, playing 120 games at the position and performing well with six Outs Above Average, which tied for the fourth-highest among all MLB first basemen.
All offseason, the Red Sox have been cautious to pencil in Triston Casas as their starting first baseman after he ruptured his patellar tendon in May. With Contreras now in the mix, Casas will be allowed to ease back into playing time. Casas also has minor-league options and could be sent to Triple-A Worcester for the start of the season. As a left-handed bat, there’s a possibility for a platoon role with Contreras.
Dobbins, an eighth-round pick in 2021 under Chaim Bloom, St. Louis’ current president of baseball operations, missed much of last season after tearing his ACL in July. Dobbins debuted in April and pitched well out of the rotation with a 4.13 ERA in 13 games, making 11 starts for the Red Sox before the season-ending surgery. He’s expected to be ready for spring training.
Hunter Dobbins is the lone major-league player heading back to the Cardinals in exchange for Contreras. (Eakin Howard / Imagn Images)
The Red Sox acquired Fajardo, 19, from the Chicago White Sox last offseason in a deal for reliever Cam Booser. Fajardo had a 2.25 ERA in 19 games (17 starts) with 83 strikeouts in 72 innings between the Florida Complex League and Single-A Salem last year.
Aita was a sixth-round pick of Boston in 2024 and posted a 3.98 ERA in 23 games (19 starts) between Single-A Salem and High-A Greenville.
The trade marked the second this offseason between the Red Sox and Cardinals after Boston acquired starter Sonny Gray for pitchers Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke in November.
The Cardinals did not enter the offseason looking to move Contreras, who had originally expressed his desire at the end of the season to stay with the organization despite a looming rebuild. However, Contreras later approached the club saying he would be willing to explore a potential trade if the deal made sense for both himself and the team.
Moving Contreras opens the door for promising lefty slugger Alec Burleson to take over the starting first base job, helping alleviate one of several logjams on the Cardinals roster. Burleson, who won the National League Silver Slugger for utility players last year, set career-highs in average (.290), on-base percentage (.343) and OPS (.801) last year while splitting time at both corner outfield positions and occasionally first base.
Bloom has been active on the trade market. He dealt Gray to the Red Sox in November and is expected to trade both Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado this offseason as St. Louis embarks on a rebuild. Trading Contreras was not something Bloom sought out to do, but with the organization’s focus firmly on the future, dealing the organization’s once-prized free-agent signing was deemed the logical decision for both parties.
Trade Grade
Cardinals: A-Red Sox: A
This is the second time the Cardinals and Red Sox have matched up this winter, and once again, it’s a deal that makes a lot of sense for each side. The Red Sox get the right-handed power bat they’ve wanted and needed for a while now — not one that plays second or third, but first base was exactly settled either — and the Cardinals get another young starting pitcher to throw immediately into their rotation, plus a couple of higher upside arms for down the road.
Contreras isn’t a 30-homer guy, but he’s had at least a 123 OPS+ each of the past four seasons, and he tends to pull the ball in the air, which could play well at Fenway Park. He also graded as a strong defender in his first full season at first base. He’s a good fit for a team that wants to improve its infield defense and leans left-handed in the lineup.
Dobbins, meanwhile, can slide right into the Cardinals rotation alongside Richard Fitts, whom they acquired in the previous trade that sent Sonny Gray to Boston. Dobbins doesn’t get a ton of strikeouts, but he more than held his own as a rookie last season, and he still has options remaining as well as a ton of team control. He has a reliable back-of-the-rotation floor, while Fajardo and Aita have a lot more risk, but Fajardo in particular could have more upside. He really emerged as a prospect last season. — Chad Jennings