Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox need to clear three more spots on the 40-man roster before Monday.
Nate Eaton added some speed to Boston’s roster when called upon. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez
October 29, 2026 | 4:53 PM
1 minute to read
It didn’t take very long for Craig Breslow and the Red Sox to begin their offseason work.
Just one day after the Brewers defeated the Rays in five games to win their first-ever World Series, the Red Sox traded outfielder Nate Eaton to the Athletics in exchange for 18-year-old right-handed pitcher Jareth Rayo.
Eaton’s departure comes amid a roster crunch for the Red Sox, who need to open up four spots on their 40-man roster before Monday.
Boston needs to add seven players who ended the regular season on the 60-day IL — Kutter Crawford, Zack Kelly, Johan Oviedo, Eduardo Rivera, Justin Slaten, Triston Casas, and Eli White — back to the 40-man roster before the fifth day after the World Series ends.
Boston will already have three roster spots freed up with Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Patrick Sandoval, and Sonny Gray hitting free agency, with the latter likely declining his mutual option to seek a new contract.
Trading Eaton leaves Boston with three roster spots to clear, and more roster reshuffling is expected in the coming days.
Eaton was a speedy outfielder who earned several stints with the Red Sox. The 29-year-old appeared in 65 games with Boston over the last two years.
He also earned a spot in Boston’s postseason roster during both the 2025 and 2026 Wild-Card Series against the Yankees.
Over his two years with Boston, Eaton batted .244 with two homers, 10 RBIs, and 11 steals.
Eaton spent most of the 2026 campaign with Triple-A Worcester, batting .253 with nine homers, 16 doubles, 44 RBIs, and a .748 OPS while playing all three outfield positions.
Rayo pitched in the Dominican Summer League in 2026, posting a 5.50 ERA in 36 innings, with nine of his 11 outings as a starter. He struck out 36 batters during that stretch but walked 20.
Breslow has some ties to the A’s, given that the Athletics’ new president of baseball operations, Taylor Smith, served as a former Red Sox assistant general manager before taking his new post earlier this month.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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