With holes to fill in the lineup, the Red Sox are exploring two of the bigger free agent bats on the market. WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports that “the Red Sox have shown interest in” Bo Bichette, and MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports that the club has likewise “checked in on Kyle Schwarber.”
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s recently commented that Boston is looking to add extra pop to its lineup, and either player would certainly fit in this regard. Schwarber is an elite power bat coming off a career year, hitting 56 homers and slashing .240/.365/.563 over 724 plate appearances for the Phillies. Bichette rebounded from an injury-shortened down year in 2024 to hit .311/.357/.483 with 18 homers over 628 plate appearances for the Blue Jays this sesason.
The injury bug did bite again for Bichette, as a knee sprain kept Bichette sidelined for most of September and most of the Jays’ playoff run until he was able to return in the World Series, but he still did plenty to re-establish himself as one of the preeminent infield bats in the sport. MLB Trade Rumors ranked Bichette second on our list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, and projected the shortstop to land an eight-year, $208MM contract.
Schwarber ranked ninth on the list with a five-year, $135MM projection. Schwarber is entering his age-33 season and is basically a full-time designated hitter, but while teams have traditionally been wary of committing major dollars to such aging and defensively limited players, Schwarber’s numbers are so outsized that he’ll very likely command a lengthy contract. There is also a sense that his market could be driven upwards by the Phillies, who have been very open about their desire to re-sign the slugger.
The Red Sox are very familiar with Schwarber, as he posted big numbers and quickly became a clubhouse favorite after Boston acquired him from the Nationals at the 2021 trade deadline. Schwarber was just a rental pickup as he entered free agency that winter and signed his four-year, $79MM deal with Philadelphia. On paper, Schwarber might not be an entirely ideal fit for the Sox since he’ll monopolize the DH spot and add another left-handed bat to an already lefty-leaning lineup, but these could be relatively minor concerns given the upside of Schwarber’s offense.
Bichette is a right-handed hitter, but his defensive fit is an open question, as whether or not Bichette remains at shortstop will be one of the key subplots of his free agency. Bichette’s defense has been a question mark for years, and such public metrics as Defensive Runs Saved (-12) and Outs Above Average (-13) hated his glovework in 2025.
In the early days of the offseason, suitors “haven’t been scared off of Bichette at shortstop,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan writes, and it isn’t yet known if Bichette and his reps at Vayner Sports are marketing him strictly as a shortstop, or if Bichette is open to a position change. He did make his big league debut at second base during the World Series, in a nod to the physical limitations of his PCL sprain.
As it relates to the Red Sox, Trevor Story is lined up as the team’s shortstop. Story’s own defensive metrics were well below average in 2025, marking a surprising decline for a player who has been a very strong defensive shortstop for much of his career. Breslow has said that Story will play shortstop next year, but since Story has shown a willingness to play other positions in the past (he was Boston’s regular second baseman when healthy in 2022), it is possible some shifting could go on within the Sox infield. The simpler solution would be to just slot Bichette at second base alongside Story at shortstop, or Bichette could potentially factor into Boston’s third base picture.
The Sox have a prominent free agent infielder of their own in Alex Bregman, who MLBTR projects for a six-year, $160MM contract. This puts Bregman as less expensive than Bichette and only a bit pricier than Schwarber. Beyond just the cost of pure dollars, the Sox would need to give up draft pick compensation for signing a qualifying offer-rejecting free agent like Bichette or Schwarber, whereas Bregman could be re-signed for just money. Bregman is also a known commodity for the organization, and he made a big impact both on and off the field in his one season in Boston.
That said, Bichette is also almost four years younger than Bregman and five years to the day younger than Schwarber. Top prospect Marcelo Mayer made his MLB debut in 2025 and seems poised to take on a more regular role somewhere in Boston’s infield, so Mayer could conceivably take over Bregman’s old spot at third base while Bichette plays second or shortstop. With Triston Casas rumored to be a trade candidate, first base has also been mentioned as target area for Boston, with names like Pete Alonso, Kazuma Okamoto, and Munetaka Murakami floated as speculative candidates to join the Sox.
I’d rather have Schwarber and Alonso. You know, as long as we’re just spitballin’……..
Whichever team Bichette ends up on it won’t be long before he ends up off SS. Don’t get me wrong, Bo has a great bat. Defensively, he has a great bat.
Even if he ends up with the Jays as i hope, they have 2 “gold glove” SS in Gimenez and Ernie so makes no sense to play Bo not at 2B.
I could see the Sox signing him and moving him the third if they lose bregman.
I could see him starting off at 2B (while Mayer mans 3B), then sliding over to 3B if/when Mayer gets hurt again – all without any complaint.
Yeah that’s another option.
Sox seem like a team I could see trading some players this offseason as well.
Longinus – how could it be that the Sox could just insert him into 3B or 2B? why would we be looking to sign a player and automatically ask them to play another position? At this stage off their careers, if both healthy, he’s probably no worse than Story. Why wouldnt Story move?
And, how do we know he wont complain? the guy hasnt played a game at any position other than SS until the playoffs this season, which is a total anomaly
He doesn’t have the arm for 3B.
These are the right names to be discussing. Biggest need is infield. Hope to see the ink dry. Don’t sell low on Casas!!
What’s better than having one of the worst defensive shortstops in the league on a big contract? Having two of the worst defensive shortstops in the league on big contracts. At least Bo has a decent bat.
Signing either Schwarber or Bo would mean they need to get rid of Yoshida and free up DH ABs.
I don’t see how Bo would relate to Yoshida.
If true Bichette must be being considered for 2B and possibly 3B. Mayer must still be considered the future SS and will play whichever position the Sox can’t fill easily. I like Schwarber but you have to move Yoshida or possibly Casa if Schwarber isn’t an exclusive 1B. The Sox really need a big RH bat to balance out the lefties.
The good news is they have a lot of bats, the bad news is a lot are LH and they can’t keep them all happy without a deal.
Interestingly Bichette, Story and Bregman each averaged 82.3mph on their throws last season. That’s average-to-below-average for their positions.
Bichette is younger, so if he’s also cheaper, probably makes sense as a replacement (I’ve been hoping for Marte but that may be wishful thinking). Bichette’s sprint speed has also plummeted over the last two years – not sure how that may impact his defense moving forward.
Bichette isn’t going to be cheaper than Bregman.
We’ll see. I’m a little worried that Bregman’s contract may go crazy OR he’ll hold out long into the offseason, restricting the Red Sox ability to pivot.
In terms of cheaper I was referring to AAV. I certainly expect Bichette to get a longer contract and therefore more overall dollars.
ESPN is expecting Bregman to get more total dollars and a higher AAV while Fangraphs crowdsource has Bichette getting more dollars but a lower AAV.
Exactly how last season started, “the Red Sox are interested in signing (place name here)……..”
i’ll believe it when i see it, but, Bichette is an interesting fit.
However, if they were to sign him, they better inform Story, Mayer and him what the plan is…..the last thing i want to hear at the press conference is “we love Bo for his positional flexibilty”
Kyle Schwarber at Fenway fot 81 games instead of 2 months would be insane. He might be able to hit the ball completely out of Fenway. Or hit the ball where allegedly Ted Williams hit the ball. 520ft or something ridiculous like that.
Red Sox should trade Philly an outfielder etc for Aiden Miller who can’t play SS in Philly so long as Turner is there. He’s actually better than most SS in the majors now but Phillies been hanging on to him as their #2 prospect. He can handle 3rd or second well and SS fabulously if needed.
So much for Kristian Campbell…