As the weeks melt by, the Boston Red Sox have plunged into the depths of the standings and nearly guaranteed they'll have to sell at the Aug. 3 trade deadline. The question then becomes what to sell. Getting whatever you can for closer Aroldis Chapman and rental starter Sonny Gray seems like the minimum. Jarren Duran is an interesting question mark, but of late, Willson Contreras seems to be the hottest trade topic in Red Sox land. Most folks who are on the side of sanity have argued against the Red Sox trading Contreras. But the idea persists -- in fact, one insider strongly urged the Red Sox to pull the trigger on Monday. Robert Murray's plea for Contreras tradeJun 14, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras (40) tosses his bat after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn ImagesRobert Murray of FanSided argued that the Red Sox needed to take advantage of Contreras' inflated trade value while he's putting up an OPS over .900 in his age-34 season during his episode of "The Baseball Insiders" podcast on Monday."I think Willson Contreras, you have to try to take advantage of that," Murray said. "That would be a guy I would look to move if I was the Red Sox. See what exactly you can get in return for him, but I think he would end up getting them something nice in return." While we shouldn't act like the argument is entirely without merit, trading Contreras would leave the Red Sox completely rudderless. Sure, the offense is in disarray and could use reinforcement from some top prospects, but if they traded Contreras, the Red Sox would just be hoping one of the prospects they got back would one day turn into Willson Contreras. Sure, moving Contreras might help the Red Sox pull in the biggest prospect haul at the deadline. But for every James Shields deadline deal that nets a future star like Fernando Tatís Jr., there are five stars who get moved for seemingly huge packages that result in nothing long-term. After years of searching for a reliable first baseman, the Red Sox found one whom they could control for two more seasons after this one at a very reasonable cost. If they have any intentions of contending by 2028, they need to hold. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow