The Boston Red Sox may be the favorite to land free agent third baseman Alex Bregman this winter. If the two sides don’t agree to a deal, however, there may be another option for Boston.
Fellow veteran star third baseman Nolan Arenado has also been connected to the Red Sox this offseason and checks most of the boxes that Bregman does.
MassLive’s Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam reported Sunday night that Boston is a “preferred destination — if not the preferred destination” for Arenado.
Red Sox Star Would be Impacted More by Potential Arenado Addition Than Bregman Move
As the MassLive duo noted, Arenado is an “imperfect fit” for Cora’s club, as they already have the face of the franchise (Rafael Devers) manning the hot corner.
Cotillo and McAdam explained, however, that there could be a workaround if the eight-time All-Star comes aboard.
“So far this offseason, team officials have adamantly stated that Devers remains the club’s third baseman for the foreseeable future,” the report said. “Quietly, though, there has been a desire all winter to pursue potential infield changes as the Red Sox have explored the markets for both Arenado and top free agent Alex Bregman. While Bregman would likely shift to second base should a Red Sox match materialize, Arenado — a 10-time Gold Glover at third base — would almost certainly not move off the position. That means the Sox may move Rafael Devers to first base to replace the incumbent Triston Casas.”
Arenado has played all 1,629 of his career regular season games in the field at third base, while Devers hasn’t played first base in the big leagues either.
Devers’ defense has been a work in progress (to put things nicely) over the years, but that’s where he’s played 951 times in the regular season, while lining up at second base and shortstop two times apiece.
On top of his five Silver Slugger awards and three NL home run crowns, Arenado would also represent a huge upgrade defensively.
The 33-year-old started his career with 10 straight Gold Gloves from 2012-2022, while earning six Platinum Gloves as well. While he hasn’t won the hardware the last two seasons, he still led the senior circuit in both putouts (103) and fielding percentage (.977) for a third baseman, making just nine errors in 392 defensive chances.
Devers, meanwhile, has been the team’s best bat since former fan favorites Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts were controversially let go by ownership in 2020 and 2022, but has frustrated fans with his glove work.
He’s led the junior circuit in errors by a third baseman each season since his first full campaign in 2018, finishing 2024 with 12. Devers also leads all active players at the hot corner with 141 career miscues, a number that puts him sixth among active players, regardless of position.
Arenado is eighth on the list but has played nearly 600 more innings than Devers.
Possible Arenado Trade Would Reunite Him With Former Longtime Teammate
If the former second round pick joins Devers and the rest of the Boston lineup, he’d also be reuniting with shortstop Trevor Story, a longtime teammate with the Colorado Rockies.
Arenado and Story played together for five seasons with the NL West club beginning in 2016, when the latter was fourth in the league’s Rookie of the Year voting. Arenado spent eight years with the Rockies from 2013-2020 before suiting up for the St. Louis Cardinals the last four seasons.
The pair of heavy hitters combined to form one of the most powerful left side of the infields in the NL for five seasons and led Colorado to its most recent postseason appearances in 2017 and 2018.
The Red Sox have already had a busy winter but could be gearing up for one more big addition.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Red Sox Named a ‘Preferred Destination’ For 8-Time All-Star appeared first on Heavy Sports.