The Boston Red Sox have made some moves during the offseason, most notably trading for Willson Contreras of the St. Louis Cardinals and acquiring pitcher Sonny Gray from the Cardinals in a separate trade. The biggest move was signing left-handed pitcher Ranger Suarez away from the Phillies.
However, while the starting pitching staff looks stronger than it has been in years with Garrett Crochet, Suarez, Brayan Bello and Gray holding down the top spots, the Red Sox have a huge hole at 3rd base.
A little less than a year ago, the Red Sox had both Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman under contract. Now they have neither due to some wrong-headed thinking and behavior from the team's management. The Red Sox thought that Bregman would give them sensational defense at the position in addition to leadership and a swing that was made for Fenway Park.
The Red Sox thought Devers would make an easy transition to designated hitter, and they advised him to “throw your glove away.” General manager Craig Breslow either didn't realize or didn't care that they were insulting their best player. The situation turned into a full-fledged disaster when Devers refused to play 1st base following an injury to the disappointing Triston Casas.
Red Sox had two 3rd basemen, now they have none
Red Sox owner John Henry made it a point to speak to Devers personally about the request, but he was not successful. As a result, the Red Sox traded Devers to the San Francisco Giants and did not receive much in return.
Bregman was everything the Red Sox thought he would be with the exception of a quad injury that caused him to miss nearly 25 percent of the schedule. After the season, Bregman opted out of his contract with the Red Sox and signed a new deal with the Chicago Cubs.
The Red Sox need a 3rd baseman heading into the 2026 season and they need to sign free agent Eugenio Suarez. The Red Sox need his right-handed power and he has shown that he would be an ideal player at Fenway. Suarez has hit .425 with 4 home runs and 14 RBIs in 44 plate appearances in Boston. While that's not a big sample, it is a good sign for manager Alex Cora and the Red Sox if they brought him aboard.
Veteran power hitter would fit in at hot corner
Suarez is 34 years old, and he has become a game-changing power hitter at this point in his career. He played for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Seattle Mariners last season, and he hit a combined 49 home runs for the two teams.
Earlier in his career, he could be expected to hit between .250 and .280, but that's no longer the case. He is a big-time all-or-nothing slugger.
Suarez slashed .228/.298/.526 last year and he drove in 118 runs in addition to his impressive home run total. He also struck out 196 times and he has fanned as much as 214 times in 2023.
While there are some teams that might be averse to employing a player who strikes out as much as Suarez, the Red Sox front office is analytics driven, and the addition of a player who could hit 40 home runs or more at Fenway is appealing to those decision makers.
Suarez is a solid defensive 3rd baseman. While he may not be elite like Bregman was during his lone season with the Red Sox, he is far better in the field than Devers.
If the Red Sox don't sign Suarez, 22-year-old Marcelo Mayer will get an opportunity to play the position. He displayed excellent defensive play and solid potential at the plate last season before getting injured. However, he is an unproven commodity at this point.
Mariners and Pirates can also use Suarez
The Mariners got what they expected from Suarez when they picked him up from the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline last year.
He belted 13 home runs and drove in 31 runs during his 53-game stint in Seattle, but his slash line was somewhat alarming for any team looking for batting average and on-base percentage. Those numbers were .189/.255/.428 with 79 strikeouts in 220 plate appearances.
However, he did have a strong American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays as he slashed .308/.379/.577 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI.
The Pirates aren't usually in any free agent battles because they don't seem to spend enough money to join the battle. However, they have already brought in Brandon Lowe (trade) and Ryan O'Hearn (free-agent signing). Adding a power bat like Suarez could be a huge move since they have the young pitchers to surprise opponents this season
