Could Boston trade one of its top prospects to land a young ace this offseason?

The Boston Red Sox have a lot of work to do if they want the offseason to be as “full throttle” as they said.

Boston entered the offseason with high expectations after winning just 78 games last year and bringing in Craig Breslow to replace Chaim Bloom to be the club’s chief baseball officer.

The Red Sox need top-of-the-rotation talent and traded away seven-time All-Star Chris Sale, but did bring in Lucas Giolito in free agency. Boston has been linked to the top free agents, but doesn’t seem like it’s willing to spend what it will cost to bring them in.

Boston also has been linked to multiple hurlers as trade candidates, including Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease. It’s unclear if the Red Sox are serious suitors, but they have been linked to star, at least.

Cease is the top hurler expected to be traded this offseason and MLB.com writers attempted to create hypothetical trade proposals for what a move could look like. One player whose name popped up from Boston is No. 2 prospect Roman Anthony in a bigger package.

“When Boston introduced Craig Breslow as its new chief baseball officer at the beginning of November, team chairman Tom Werner promised a competitive team in 2024, adding: ‘You know that we’re going to have to be full throttle in every possible way.’ To be sure, Breslow has made some notable moves in his first two months on the job — but nothing to match that rhetoric.

“Boston, coming off consecutive 78-win, last-place finishes, obviously needs to do more to be considered serious contenders in the rough-and-tumble AL East. Cease would qualify, serving as a potential ace atop a rotation that recently added Lucas Giolito but subtracted Chris Sale after largely struggling in 2023. Potential trade return: (outfielder) Roman Anthony (Major League Baseball Pipeline’s No. 35 prospect), (second baseman) Nick Yorke (Red Sox’s No. 6 prospect), (right-handed pitcher) Richard Fitts (Red Sox’s No. 10 prospect), (first baseman) Bobby Dalbec.”

Boston needs another hurler and Cease is under contract for two seasons. This trade proposal certainly is a lot, but maybe Cease could be worth it. At this point, it seems very likely that Cease will be traded. The Red Sox have one of the top farm systems in baseball and likely could get a deal done if they saw fit, but it’s unclear how they value the 28-year-old.