The Boston Red Sox are entering the offseason with one top objective, as the team stated in October. Boston signed third baseman Alex Bregman last winter, and he thrived on the field and in the locker room with the team, making clear his desire to return even as he opted out of the remainder of his contract to hit free agency. Now, all sides want to see that Bregman comes back, but whether the Red Sox will pay the needed freight to keep him is an open question.
At 31, the Red Sox might be wary of making a six-year commitment to Bregman, which is what it may take to keep him around. Other suitors, from the Cubs and Tigers on up to the Yankees and Dodgers, might have no such reservations, and if that’s the case, Bregman likely is gone.
So the question for Boston becomes, who replaces him at third base? And the quick-and-dirty answer from the Boston Herald’s perspective is that, if the Red Sox go to free agency to fill the void, slugger Eugenio Suarez would be the man.
Red Sox Could Use a Slugger Like Eugenio Suarez
Suarez is a poor third baseman who can hit a ton, which, of course, is the situation the Red Sox were in at this time last year, a situation that led to the eventual trade of Rafael Devers to the Giants. But Suarez would be cheaper (Spotrac projects him at two years, $30 million, but The Athletic has him at a heftier three-year, $69 million deal) than Devers and require less of a commitment. Besides which, there are precious few other options.
As Herald beat writer Mac Cerullo writes, “The only other third baseman who would meaningfully move the needle is Eugenio Suarez. The 34-year-old hit 49 home runs with 118 RBI and an .824 OPS this past season, so he’d help bring some badly needed right-handed power to the lineup, but he’d also represent a significant downgrade defensively from both Bregman and Mayer.”
Can Red Sox Count on Marcelo Mayer?
Mayer, of course, is Marcelo Mayer, the Red Sox prospect who made a good showing of himself at third base last summer while Bregman was out before suffering a season-ending wrist injury. Mayer might well be able to handle the job, but to go from Devers to Bregman to Mayer would represent a worrying offensive drop-off.
Mayer hit just .228 in 44 big-league games last year, but he hit .273 with an .826 OPS in his minor-league career, and should, eventually, be a hitter with doubles power who can knock 15-20 homers.
As the team tries to move forward in contention, getting more home-run power is the goal, and Suarez has that.
No Eugenio Suarez Could Mean Trade Time
Cerullo also noted, though, that a trade for a third baseman could make more sense, though there is no obvious candidate out there to fill Bregman’s shoes and add power to the lineup. Long-rumored trade target Nolan Arrenado is on the list of possibilities, but while he is a great defender at the position, he hit .237 with 12 homers last year.
Cerullo also mentions Josh Jung, Alec Bohm and Brendan Donovan as trade candidates, though with the Red Sox focused on acquiring a pitcher via trade, sending out prospects to bring back position players is likely a stretch.
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