Red Sox kick start offseason with two minor trades, dealing away Nate Eaton, Tsung-Che Cheng

The culling has begun. As Matt Gross pointed out yesterday, a weird quirk of the Red Sox 40-man roster is forcing Craig Breslow’s hand as the offseason gets underway: he has to cut four players loose before free agency even begins. With a couple of minor trades yesterday, he’s at two down with two to go, as utility man and speed demon Nate Eaton was sent to the Athletics, while Tsung-Che Cheng will head to Detroit. It goes without saying that these are two players the Red Sox can afford to lose.