A number of teams (and their fanbases) have already turned their attention towards the offseason. Identifying free agent targets is a big part of that prep work, so it’s worth taking a look at the players who’ll be available at each position.
We’re moving to third base, where the eligibility cutoff is players who either logged at least 50 innings at the position this season or have primarily played there in their careers. Most shortstops could theoretically handle the hot corner. Some teams might have interest in Jorge Polanco and/or Ha-Seong Kim at third base — the Mariners played Polanco there for 43 innings — but Polanco was covered in our second base preview and Kim will be highlighted more prominently in our shortstop preview. Ages listed are for the 2026 season.
Previous entries in this series: catcher, first base, second base
Regular Third Basemen
Alex Bregman (32)
Bregman can opt out of the final two years and $80MM of his contract this offseason. Deferred money in the contract reportedly knocks the present-day valuation of that sum down by around $10MM annually. Even absent the deferrals, Bregman would feel like all but a lock to opt out. He secured that contract last year when he was saddled a qualifying offer, which won’t be the case this season, as players can only receive one QO in their careers.
Early on, Bregman played like a borderline MVP candidate, hitting .299/.385/.553 with 11 homers, 17 doubles, a 9.7% walk rate and an 18.6% strikeout rate through May 23. A quad strain shelved him for close to two months at that point. There’s a narrative that Bregman floundered down the stretch after that injury, but it doesn’t accurately paint the whole picture. Bregman slashed an outstanding .325/.408/.518 with more walks (11.5%) than strikeouts (8.5%) in his first 130 plate appearances off the injured list. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said this week that Bregman was activated at less than 100% and perhaps wasn’t running full speed for much of that time. Be that as it may, he was still quite productive.
Bregman tanked for the next three weeks or so, hitting .151/.223/.215 in 103 plate appearances. He struck out at only a 10.7% clip in that time but was dogged by a .159 average on balls in play. Over the final 10 days of play, Bregman emerged from his slump to hit .276/.417/.414 in 36 plate appearances.
The notion that Bregman’s second-half “swoon” was driven by his quad injury doesn’t really seem to hold up. Based on Breslow’s comments, we can assume he wasn’t 100%, but it’s a tougher sell that playing at “80%” (as Breslow suggested) really impacted Bregman’s bat. If the quad were that much of a problem, would he have come back hitting even better than he did pre-injury for about a full month? This seems like a good hitter had a bad three weeks because of some ugly results on balls in play. That happens.
On the whole, Bregman hit .273/.360/.462 (125 wRC+) with a revitalized walk rate and improved batted-ball metrics. His defense, even with an ailing quadriceps, graded out better than average. Both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference peg him at 3.5 WAR in only 114 games. There’s a pretty easy case that Bregman is a bankable four- to five-WAR player, and while talk of veteran presence/clubhouse leadership/intangibles is often overstated, it seems genuine that front offices are captivated by his leadership skills and personality.
Long-term deals beginning at age 32 aren’t common, but Bregman’s a better 32-year-old free agent than most and can probably find five or even six years in free agency. Even if that were to fall through, a two- or three-year pact comparable to the one he signed last winter would probably be there to provide a soft landing.
Eugenio Suarez (34)
Suarez’s strikeout rate crept back up close to 30% this year after a welcomed dip in 2024. He struggled, rate-wise, after a trade sending him back to the Mariners, and this year’s defensive grades at third base were the worst of his career.
He also hit 49 home runs.
Suarez’s .228 average and .298 on-base percentage aren’t going to stand out — not for good reasons, anyhow — but he slugged .526 and tied a career-best in home runs six years after previously belting 49 dingers for the Reds in 2019’s juiced-ball season. Suarez has game-changing power, second only to Kyle Schwarber among free agents, and is still playable at third base, even if he’s below average there now. He’ll strike out too much, but he’s one of only three reliable sources of 30-homer pop in free agency this winter alongside Schwarber and Pete Alonso. Unlike those two, he has at least some defensive utility. (A below-average third baseman is more valuable than a below-average first baseman or a pure DH with occasional outfield reps.)
Age will probably keep Suarez’s contract to a maximum of three years, and he might even be capped at two, but that will oddly make him even more appealing to some teams. Clubs are increasingly reluctant to hand out long-term deals, so having his contract length inherently limited by his age should lead to a broad market that allows Suarez to command a weighty average annual value.
Yoan Moncada (31)
Admittedly, “regular” is something of a misnomer when it comes to a player who’s tallied all of 292 games in the past four seasons combined. Still, when Moncada has been healthy enough to take the field, he’s been a pure third baseman, and a quietly solid one at that. Over the past two seasons, he’s hit .240/.338/.441 with a dozen homers in 334 turns at the plate. He was roughly league-average at the plate in about a half season with the White Sox in 2023, too.
Moncada isn’t the star he looked to be early in his career. Injuries have regularly worn him down and kept him off the field. Any team signing him will have to expect more of the same at this point, but that team can also expect Moncada to be relatively productive when he’s on the diamond. The switch-hitter won’t turn 31 until late May next year. A team hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with a low-cost acquisition at third base will probably sign him to a one-year deal. For whatever period of the season he’s healthy, it’s reasonable to expect Moncada to be about 10% better than average at the plate, and there’s upside for a bit more than that if things really click.
NPB Stars Who Are Expected To Be Posted
Munetaka Murakami (26)
It’s an open question whether Murakami can handle third base in the major leagues, but it’s been the star slugger’s primary position with the Yakult Swallows in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He’s also played plenty of first base and even cameoed in right field for three games this season. Scouting reports feel a move to first base will eventually be necessary, but it’s certainly plausible that a team might be willing to let Murakami have a go at the hot corner for at least the first few years of a contract.
After all, Murakami’s calling card isn’t his glove, but rather his age and his legitimately prodigious power. The two-time NPB MVP missed multiple months with an oblique strain in 2025 but homered nearly once every 10 plate appearances when healthy, bashing 22 round-trippers in just 224 plate appearances while hitting .273/.379/.663. Murakami has slam-dunk 80-grade power on the 20-80 scale. He’s been more pull-heavy in 2025’s injury-shortened season, but Murakami has all-fields power with blistering exit velocities. It’s the type of left-handed raw power in line with countryman Shohei Ohtani and NL home run leader Kyle Schwarber (as you can see in this early-October home run, clocked at 117 mph off the bat).
Murakami has seen his contact rate drop and his strikeout rate climb in the three seasons since his being named NPB MVP in consecutive seasons back in 2021-22. He’s fanned in around 28% of his plate appearances since 2023. However, he’s also walked in nearly 16% of his plate appearances during that time and is currently homering at an even more rapid pace than his ’22 campaign, when he belted a career-high 56 home runs in 141 games.
Murakami has the power ceiling and youth to command a long-term contract, likely with at least one opt-out opportunity. Strikeout and defensive concerns notwithstanding, he’s likely going to rank prominently on our Top 50 free agent rankings based on the earning power created by that blend of youth and rare power.
Kazuma Okamoto (30)
As is the case with Murakami, Okamoto is a plus hitter in NPB whose 2025 season has been shortened by injury (elbow, in his case) and who comes with concerns about a potential move across the diamond. His right-handed bat has plus raw power but not to the extent of Murakami’s top-of-the-scale thunder. However, Okamoto’s hit tool is vastly superior, as evidenced by a tiny 11.3% strikeout rate in 229 plate appearances this season (and a 15.9% mark in a full 2024 campaign).
Make no mistake, though. Just because Okamoto’s doesn’t have as much power as Murakami doesn’t mean his power won’t be coveted. He rattled off six straight 30-homer seasons from 2018-23, topping out at 41 dingers in ’23. He “slipped” to 29 home runs in 2024, but his 2025 pace would have him in line for one of his highest career totals; he’s swatted 15 homers in 293 plate appearances. Overall, Okamoto is hitting .327/.416/.598.
If Okamoto were a lock to stay at third base, his earning power would be considerably higher. He was regarded as a below-average defender at the hot corner even before this year’s elbow injury, however, and the injury now creates further concern about his defensive outlook. The offensive bar to clear for a righty-swinging first baseman is much higher than that of a third baseman. Still, Okamoto’s bat and incredibly consistent track record in NPB will draw plenty of interest and should earn him a notable contract — if he’s posted. He’s the captain of the Yomiuri Giants, a team that rarely posts players for MLB clubs. However, Okamoto has asked the team to post him and is only one year away from becoming a true international free agent. The Giants’ options are to hold him for a year and lose him for no compensation, or to post him now and receive potentially tens of millions of dollars from an MLB club via posting.
Multi-Position Players
Willi Castro (29)
The versatile Castro’s bat tanked following a deadline trade from the Twins to the Cubs, but his overall track record across the past three seasons is strong. The switch-hitter is a .244/.328/.386 hitter dating back to 2023, and he’s comfortable at second base, third base, shortstop and in the outfield. He’s not a plus defender at any of those spots, but he’s capable enough and runs well. He’s a nice bench piece for any contender and could potentially get a look as a semi-regular for a team with needs at second base/left field.
Miguel Rojas (37)
Rojas has minimal power and doesn’t walk much, but he’s a high-contact hitter who consistently posts quality batting averages and provides slick defense around the infield. He has plus grades at shortstop, third base and second base in his career and has continued to show he can play all of those positions at a high level.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa (31)
Like Rojas, Kiner-Falefa is a versatile, high-contact, low-power utility player. His right-handed bat has produced a career .262/.311/.349 line, and he’s an annual threat for 15 to 20 steals. “IKF” doesn’t walk much and has never topped eight homers in a season, but he’s a well-regarded defensive player who can handle multiple spots in the infield and outfield. Kiner-Falefa has particularly strong grades at second and third but is solid enough at shortstop and even logged a combined 567 innings between center field and left field in 2023-24.
Luis Rengifo (29)
The switch-hitting Rengifo looked like he was trending toward a nice multi-year deal from 2022-24 when he hit a combined .273/.323/.431 (111 wRC+) and struck out at just a 16.3% clip. His bat flopped with a .238/.287/.335 output (73 wRC+) in his platform season, however. Rengifo can play second base and third base, though he’s better at the former and not a consistently plus defender at either. (He did post strong second base grades in 2025.) He’s probably looking at a one-year deal, though perhaps his youth and track record could earn him a modest two-year pact.
Amed Rosario (30)
Rosario’s days as a starting shortstop — or a shortstop, in general — are likely behind him. The former top prospect never blossomed into stardom, but he’s a useful utility player who can handle multiple positions and beat up left-handed pitching. Rosario can play second base, third base or the outfield corners, and he has enough experience at shortstop that he can handle the spot in a pinch (even though his defensive marks have reached worrying levels). He posted a solid .276/.309/.436 line in 191 plate appearances this season (106 wRC+) and is a career .298/.336/.464 hitter against lefties. He should get a big league deal and fill a bench role again in 2026.
Minor League Deal Candidates
Red Sox Nation would be ecstatic if Suarez on a reasonable deal replaces Bregman!
Get it done Breslow!!
We know Murakami and Okamoto ain’t coming because the Red Sox reputation with Japanese players is not good, to put it mildly.
Fever, not ecstatic but I’d be content. That said, I’m expecting a new deal for Bregman. also, can anyone see Hernandez going anywhere? I don’t. It will be another minor league deal with LAvto get him into camp without using a roster spot and a handshake on barring an injury, being on the opening day roster.
dewey – What if they sign Suarez and the money they save on Bregman they put toward Alonso? Can you imagine adding 65 homeruns with both players being righthanded?
dewey – On a side note, it’s so nice to watch real baseball in the postseason, such as no ghost runners tonight. It’s shaping up to be an epic game.
Part of me is rooting for the Tigers because of how everyone gave up on them just a couple weeks ago. But they just won a championship in 1984, so now is Seattle’s turn.
Fever, I’m in on Alonso, regardless of who plays third. That said, does anyone really expect either Alonzo or Schwarber to leave their current teams question
MLB trade rumours pumping Okamoto. Another pass.
Any player from Korea or Japan is a crap shoot, especially position players. If BOS is looking to turn the corner in ‘26, it will need to be Bregman or Suarez.
I think Okamoto has a better chance of playing well in MLB than Murakami does. Murakami striking out at a rate you usually see some of the most strikeout-prone MLB players go down at, not NBP where K’s are a lot more rare. He seriously runs the risk of being post-Rangers Joey Gallo, minus good defense at both the outfield and first base.
Agreed. If you can’t make contact the power doesn’t matter.
Okamoto is the safer pick of the two.
That’s a risk a team like PIT or COL should take, not the Red Sox.
Definitely.
Add the Angels, A’s, and several others.
No thanks. Mets need plus defenders.
Next. And. Next.
At least soto is a insane defender right, right!
If Soto can lead the league in stolen bases no reason he can’t also win a platinum glove.
Sarcasm aside, prior to ’25 I’d say both were equally likely of happening. Elly De La Cruz played in 162 games and had fewer stolen bases then Juan Soto. In my mind I would have pegged that as a 1 in a 1000 chance.
Bregman is fool’s gold. Red Sox should hope he walks and then not pursue him