Pressure piles on the Boston Red Sox with each passing day in MLB free agency. Ownership has made an effort to target high-caliber talent but has been unable to land any big names this offseason. The club is, however, leading the chase for an All-Star and multi-time World Series champion.

“SOURCE: Jorge Soler is seeking for a multi-year contract of at least 3 guaranteed years,” insider Hector Gomez reported. “The Red Sox continue being the frontrunner. The Mets are showing heavy interest in him, joining Red Sox, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and Mariners in the Soler sweepstakes.”

Now, to be clear, this is not the aforementioned star signing fans have been begging management to pull off, but he can deliver some added pop to the lineup. Boston is ostensibly looking to infuse some extra power into its offense after previously pursuing slugger Teoscar Hernandez. While Soler fits that mold, he comes with less upside.

The potential risks in a Jorge Soler signing

Jorge Soler swings a big bat, but should Sox invest three years in him?
1/12/24

The Cuban outfielder/designated hitter can be fairly one-dimensional, batting .243 for his career while playing substandard defense. He is also injury-prone and on the wrong side of 30. It is understandable that Soler would want to cash in on his productive 2023 campaign with the upstart Miami Marlins (.250 batting average, 36 home runs and .512 slugging percentage in 137 games), but there are definite risks for the Red Sox and the aforementioned suitors.

Although Jorge Soler has a chance to effectively slide into the DH role with the New York Mets and be the big bat they need, it is more difficult to gauge his role with Boston. Defense is already a concern for the ballclub, with the idea of Rafael Devers and Masataka Yoshida both remaining as regular fielders being unsettling at this current time.

And yet, there is absolutely merit in signing a former World Series MVP who can pair nicely with Devers and Triston Casas and help solve the Sox's modest home-run output. Soler is a gamble, especially if he is adamant about a three-year contract, but the Red Sox might be running out of better alternatives.

Fans must come to grips, if they haven't already, that it has come to the point where no single acquisition is going to feel like an instant cure-all for the franchise's present issues. You have to start somewhere, though.