Heritage Trade

One of the better trades I have made lately brought me a bunch of Heritage singles that I needed for my team sets.  Heritage is one of the better sets for player selection and I usually like to get the team set, and try hard for the short prints.  For whatever reason, the last couple years I haven't been great about getting many cards.  This trade helped make up some of the holes.  The first scan will be from 2024, the second from 2025.

1.  Brayan Bello.  One of the players in this scan that is still with the team, Bello is having a bit of a breakout season this year.  He has become a certified Yankee killer and his ERA is currently below 3.00.  He is an extreme groundball pitcher, so he doesn't rack up the strikeouts, but he has been very impressive this year.

2.  Kenley Jansen.  It is strange that Boston has brought in three of the greatest closers in the last twenty years.  Jansen had his moments with Boston and was an All Star in 2023.  He picked up 56 saves over his two years in Boston.

3.  Tyler O'Neill.  O'Neill had a very good season in Boston, even if it was shortened by injury.  He crushed 31 home runs, his second-highest total of his career, and played good defense.  The Red Sox did not keep him around and he took a big deal with the Orioles, that is not working out.

4.  Chris Murphy.  Notably, both Jim Rice and Fred Lynn had their rookie cards in 1975 Topps as part of four-player rookie cards.  Murphy will likely not be as impressive, but he has had some decent stints as a lefty reliever.

5.  Kutter Crawford.  Crawford looked like a potential breakout candidate, but has been injured all season.

6.  Naoyuki Uwasawa.  This is now my third card of Uwasawa, one more than he has games pitched in the Majors.

7.  Brandon Walter.  It's pretty easy to confuse Walter with Chris Murphy, both were lefty relievers around the same time with Boston.  Walter though has turned into a decent starter with the Astros this season.

8.  Danny Jansen.  I've covered this event a couple of times, so I don't have to do it again.  Jansen is now playing with the Brewers.

9.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  This is not a Ceddanne-free post, but he's not the focal point.

10.  Nick Sogard.  Sogard has gotten a lot of cards this year for a guy who is a AAAA utility player.  He can do some decent things, but he is no danger of becoming a regular Major Leaguer.

11.  Rob Refsnyder.  One of the great lefty mashers in the league today, Refsnyder has found a home in Boston.

12.  Jarren Duran.  The most interesting question going into the offseason is how Boston handles the outfield.  I spoke at length about this in my post about the Rafael Devers trade.  Boston still has at least four outfielders going into next season with Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Roman Anthony.  They have to make a trade and Duran seems like the most likely to go, with Abreu a slight second.

13.  Connor Wong.  Yep, got a Wong here too.  Wong is starting to hit better, still not much power though.

14.  Kenley Jansen.  No relation to Danny.  Obviously.

15.  Tris Speaker.  Speaker is still arguably the greatest center fielder in team history and the first example of the team not being able to keep its stars.