Contreras and his agents at Octagon negotiated an additional $1 million bonus for Contreras to clear the trade, as the veteran’s contract contains a full no-trade clause. The final two guaranteed seasons of Contreras’ contract and the club option on his services for 2028 have been slightly reworked, so he will now receive $18 million in 2026, $17 million in 2027, and the Red Sox have a $20 million club option on his services in 2028, with a $7.5 million buyout. (The previous terms include an $18.5 million salary in 2027 and a $17.5 million club option with a $5 million buyout.)
The final settlement amounts to $42.5 million in guaranteed money for Contreras for the remainder of his deal. Factoring in the Cardinals’ $8 million contribution, Boston’s commitment to Contreras is $34.5 million in salary, and his luxury tax number is $17.25 million.
When the Cards first explored a rebuild last winter, Contreras and Gray were not open to parting with their no-trade protections. After a mediocre 78-84 season, the Cards sent a firmer look to the future, Gray, Contreras and Nolan Arenado (who blocked a deal with the Astros last winter) all indicated in recent months that they were more open to accepting a trade.
In Contreras’ case, he opened the door at the end of the season by saying:if something happens… and it makes sense for me and my future, will we talk about it?Contreras said. The first baseman emphasized that he was still eager to contribute as a veteran leader within the Cardinals’ rebuild, although reports emerged a few weeks ago that Contreras was showing a greater willingness to waive his no-trade clause and move on to a new challenge.
Contreras (who turns 34 in May) ends his tenure in St. Louis with a .261/.358/.459 slash line and 55 home runs over 1,416 plate appearances from 2023-25. Signed to a five-year, $87.5 million free agent deal in December 2022, the idea was that Contreras would take over from Jadier Molina as the team’s regular catcher, but in somewhat awkward fashion, the Cardinals reduced Contreras’ playing time behind the plate and regularly used him as a DH. Heading into the 2025 season, Contreras became a full-time first baseman, returning to a position he had played only a handful of times earlier in his career with the Cubs. The Outs Above Average metric gave Contreras a positive grade of +6 for his first base work in 2025, but he also got -1 defensive runs saved.
Regardless, it appears Contreras is at least a passable defender in the cold corner, and the Red Sox can live with only mediocre defense as long as the former All-Star continues to score. Contreras hit .257/.344/.447 with 20 home runs over 563 PA in 2025, which translates to a 124 wRC+. A career 7.8% walk rate was a concern and Contreras has always been prone to strikeouts, but he continued to consistently make hard and productive contact. Contreras is a right-handed hitter, who helps balance a Boston lineup that is tilting to the left.
Contreras’ last four seasons in Chicago overlapped with Craig Breslow‘s time working in the Cubs’ front office before Breslow was hired to take over Boston’s baseball operations following the 2023 season. Breslow’s tenure thus far has been defined by major transactions ranging from the deals that netted Gray, Garrett hookand now Contreras to Fenway Park, and the surprise move last June Rafael Devers to the giants.
One of the many factors that played a role in the Devers trade was Devers’ displeasure over whether he would be allowed to move to first base in the wake of Triston Casas‘season-ending knee surgery in early May. While Romy González and collection deadline Nathaniel Lowe helped fill the void at first base, there was little doubt the Sox would address the position in a bigger way this winter. Pete Alonso, Isaac Paredes, Kazuma Okamoto, Munetaka MurakamiAnd Bryce Eldridge were among the first starters on Boston’s radar on the free-agent and trade front this winter, and Cotillo reported last week that Contreras was another name under consideration.
With Contreras in the fold, a Casas trade seems increasingly likely. Casas has been involved in trade talks dating back to last winter and prior to his knee surgery, and despite his injury-shortened season, rival clubs appear interested in the former top players. Conversely, if the Sox could figure out a way to dump Masataka YoshidaUnder Casas’ contract, Casas could share first base/DH duties with Contreras.
Adding a first baseman solves another piece of Boston’s infield puzzle and turns a position from a weak link into a strength. The Red Sox remain connected to other big names in the field, such as Bo Bichette or old friend Alex Bregmanand Contreras’ $36 million price tag shouldn’t stop the Sox from spending big on either of these names, even considering Boston’s recent wariness about major financial commitments. Trading an outfielder could further shake up the mix of position players, and there have been consistent rumors about the possibility of the Sox moving an outfielder to pitch.
The Red Sox entered the winter with plenty of pitching depth in terms of young guns, but lacked proven frontline pitchers who could join Crochet. Brayan Bello in the rotation. Gray was one answer, and picking up fellow trade Johan Oviedo could be another one after Oviedo was acquired from the Pirates. This has made Breslow more comfortable trading from further down his pitching depth chart and after moves Richard Fitts and prospect Brandon Clarke to St. Louis for Gray, Breslow has now parted ways with Dobbins, Fajardo and Aida.
The equation was quite simple for Breslow. The CBO has been willing to provide some (e.g Jhostynxon Garcia, Kyle Teel) of Boston’s more touted prospects, while sticking with the likes of Marcelo Mayer, Roman AnthonyAnd Kristian Campbelland also moving some pitchers who no longer appear to be in Boston’s plans. In Dobbins’ case, he won’t even be available for the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster, as the right back tore his right ACL last July. This was the second right ACL tear Dobbins has endured, plus he has undergone Tommy John surgery due to his checkered health history.
Dobbins made his MLB debut in 2025 and posted a 4.13 ERA, 6.6% walk rate and 17.6% strikeout rate through his first 61 innings in the Show. Dobbins, an eighth-round pick for the Sox in the 2021 draft, is more of a grounder-heavy pitcher than a big strikeout arm, but his slider and curveball have good scent values to complement his 93.5-mph fastball. Major questions remain about Dobbins’ durability, but the 26-year-old right-hander has less than a year of MLB service time and now expects to be a longer-term addition to St. Louis’ rotation.
Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom is intimately familiar with Dobbins, as Bloom led Boston’s front office when Dobbins joined the organization. Interestingly, of the five pitchers the Cardinals acquired in the Contreras and Gray trades, Dobbins is the only one who was part of Boston’s organization when Bloom was still there.
Fitts and (when healthy) Dobbins could factor into the Cardinals’ rotation picture as early as 2026. Dobbins doesn’t fit Bloom’s desire at all to add another veteran arm to the rotation, but finding an innings-eater is a short-term goal while Dobbins is part of the bigger picture. That’s been the story of this offseason in St. Louis, with Bloom now fully installed atop the decision-making pyramid, the Cardinals are beginning the rebuild they contemplated but then backed away from last winter.
Trading Contreras is still removing a large chunk of salary from Cards’ books. An Arenado deal could be the next step, although that transaction will be trickier due to both Arenado’s salary and the fact that (unlike Contreras or Gray) Arenado is coming off a tough 2025 season. Other players like it Brendan Donovan And JoJo Romero are also regularly mentioned in trade rumors. There is one player that St. Louis wasn’t very willing to move Alec Burlesonwho now looks to step right into the everyday role of first base now that Contreras is gone.
Fajardo was an international signing for the White Sox in 2024, and he has now been traded twice before his 20th birthday. Fajardo turned his Sox around when Chicago sent him into the Boston a year ago Cam Booster trade, and the right-hander had a 2.25 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate over 72 innings in rookie ball and with Salem at the A-level in 2025. MLB Pipeline ranked Fajardo 23rd in their rankings of the top 30 Red Sox prospects, describing the teenager as “a potential mid-rotation starter” whose four-seam fastball has a can reach a speed of 150 km per hour.
Aita was a sixth-round pick for the Red Sox in the 2024 draft. In his first professional season, the 22-year-old right-hander posted a 3.98 ERA in 115 1/3 combined innings in Salem and at high-A Greenville, with a 21.4% strikeout rate and a 6.5% walk rate. According to Geoff Pontes of Baseball AmericaAita technically has a five-throw arsenal, but he rarely throws his slider. Aita’s fastball is in the 90-90 mph range, but with a lot of movement, and there’s also a lot of movement and spin on his sweeper and cutter.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan (several links) was the first to report that Contreras was heading to Boston for Dobbins and several minor league pitchers, with Ken Rosenthal of athletics he later identified Fajardo and Aita. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported the details of Contreras’ $1 million bonus for waiving his no-trade clause. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported the rate of $8 million from St. Louis to Boston, and Cotillo and Katie Woo from athletics had the details about the reworked money in Contreras’ contract.
Inset image courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing – Imagn Images
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