Red Sox Reportedly Trade for Caleb Durbin in 6-Player Deal with Brewers, Updated Rosters and Payroll

Facing concerns about their infield mix after losing Alex Bregman in free agency, the Boston Red Sox are acquiring Caleb Durbin in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Red Sox will receive Durbin from the Brewers. MLB Network provided the full deal:

Red Sox Projected 2026 Lineup

1. Roman Anthony, LF
2. Trevor Story, SS
3. Jarren Duran, DH
4. Willson Contreras, 1B
5. Wilyer Abreu, RF
6. Carlos Narváez, C
7. Caleb Durbin, 2B
8. Marcelo Mayer, 3B
9. Ceddanne Rafaela, CF

Brewers Projected 2026 Starting Rotation

1. Brandon Woodruff, RHP
2. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP
3. Quinn Priester, RHP
4. Kyle Harrison, LHP
5. Chad Patrick, RHP

Durbin, Kyle Harrison and David Hamilton are all pre-arb players, so their salaries for 2026 won't have much of an impact on either team. None of them has officially signed their contracts for the upcoming season at this point. Shane Drohan is 27 and has yet to reach the big leagues after being a fifth-round draft pick by the Red Sox in 2020.

Per Spotrac, the Red Sox entered the day with $259.5 million in payroll and Milwaukee was at $127.1 million.

The primary question from this trade is where Durbin will play in Boston. He played 136 games as a rookie for the Brewers, with 126 of them coming at third base.

Bregman's departure opened the door for Marcelo Mayer to slot in as the starter at third base. Mayer, the No. 4 pick in the 2021 draft, made his MLB debut last season playing primarily at the hot corner.

Both Durbin and Mayer also have the versatility to play second base. The scouting reports for Mayer when he was a prospect in 2024 noted there was a feeling he could end up being an above-average defender at third.

Boston should give Mayer every opportunity to prove himself as the long-term starter at third base. Durbin played 153 games at second base in the minors, so there won't be much of an adjustment for him.

The Red Sox could also go with a platoon at second base. Romy González, who was penciled in as the starter, hit .331/.378/.600 in 143 games against left-handed pitching last season.

Milwaukee's side of the deal addresses a hole on its roster that developed after Freddy Peralta was traded to the New York Mets.

Kyle Harrison is a bet by the Brewers on their pitching development to maximize his talent. The 24-year-old has now been traded twice in eight months. He was acquired by Boston from the San Francisco Giants as part of the Rafael Devers trade.

MLB.com ranked Harrison as the top prospect in San Francisco's system entering the 2023 season. He had an elite fastball and a plus slider coming up through the minors, but that has yet to translate at the MLB level.

Harrison has a 4.39 ERA in 194.2 innings over 42 appearances with the Giants and Red Sox. He's still young enough to believe there's more in his arsenal, and a team like the Brewers has a strong track record of pitching development to help him reach his potential.

The competitive balance pick acquired by Boston will be the 67th overall pick in the 2026 draft. MLB has yet to assign slot values to picks, but using the 2025 chart that could add at least another $1.3 million in bonus pool money for the Red Sox to use.

Boston's estimated 2026 draft bonus pool of $8.8 million is the seventh-lowest in MLB, per Dan Soemann of Spotrac. An extra $1.3 million would bump the Red Sox up to around $10.1 million, right behind the Cincinnati Reds at $10.4 million.

David Hamilton and Andruw Monasterio is essentially a swap of utility infielders for the two teams. Hamilton has a .222/.283/.359 slash line in 204 career MLB games. Monsterio hit .250/.321/.351 in 219 games with the Brewers.

Anthony Siegler reached the big leagues last season after seven years in the minors. He is unlikely to play much of a role in Boston, but could be a depth piece on the bench.