The Red Sox pivoted quickly after losing out on third baseman Alex Bregman, bringing lefty Ranger Suárez in to join an already deep rotation. They’re still in the market for help on the infield, and comments from chief baseball officer Craig Breslow at Suárez’s introductory press conference perhaps shed some light on the potential moves they could yet have in store (links (via Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, Rob Bradford of WEEI and Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic).
“I don’t think there’s a question anymore that the identity of our team and the strength of our team is going to be our pitching and our ability to prevent runs,” Breslow said .
Breslow, unsurprisingly, wouldn’t comment directly on whether any subsequent additions are on the horizon. The third-year baseball ops leader acknowledged (via Bradford) that “teams call about some of our depth” but added that it’s “hard to tell” whether anything will come together in the near future, just given the sudden nature with which offseason negotiations can either accelerate or crumble at any given point.
Regarding the team’s in-house options, McCaffrey reports that the organization prefers Marcelo Mayer at third base rather than at second base. That’s not necessarily set in stone, and the Sox would presumably be open to Mayer at second base if an unexpected opportunity arose at the hot corner, but it’s nevertheless notable that that’s where they’d lean, all else being equal. Breslow emphasized that the Red Sox “will be very mindful of the defensive skill set” of any addition to the infield. McCaffrey suggests that the ideal target for the Red Sox would be a plus defensive second baseman.
That’s not great news for Eugenio Suárez, who has drawn some level of interest from Boston, Pittsburgh and the incumbent Seattle. (Surely, others are also in the mix to varying extents.) The 34-year-old is fresh off a 49-homer campaign and would absolutely give the Sox the power bat they said they were targeting early in free agency, but Breslow’s comments following the Bregman pivot seem more focused on defense, and Suárez was dinged for negative grades by both Defensive Runs Saved (-6) and Outs Above Average (-3) between the D-backs and Mariners this past season.
On the flip side, it only further strengthens the idea of Boston taking a genuine run at Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner or, to a lesser extent, Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan. Hoerner is the premier second base defender in MLB and is earning $12MM in the final season of his contract. He hit .297/.345/.394 with a microscopic 7.6% strikeout rate and 29 steals this past season. The Cubs have at least heard out interested teams on Hoerner, particularly after signing Bregman, but they’d need immediate MLB-ready help on the pitching side of things to even consider moving him. It’s also feasible that they could listen on young infielder Matt Shaw, but he’d also come with a lofty ask given his six years of remaining club control.
Circling back for a third separate trade with the Cardinals, where Breslow’s predecessor Chaim Bloom is running baseball operations, would be highly unusual — but the fit is sensible. Bloom obviously is quite familiar with many of Boston’s farmhands, and the Cardinals are looking to max out Donovan’s trade value while he still has two seasons of club control left. Donovan is a left-handed hitter and isn’t as strong defensively as Hoerner, making him a lesser fit, but the multiple seasons of control and ability to pretty seamlessly slide to third base or left field — depending on team health/needs — is certainly appealing.
Payroll-wise, there shouldn’t be much off the table for the Sox. RosterResource pegs them at about $197MM in actual cash payroll, which is down from 2025’s mark and not close to the franchise-record $236MM Opening Day mark. Their $265MM luxury tax ledger is far heftier, thanks in large part to backloaded deals for Suárez, Roman Anthony, Brayan Bello, Kristian Campbell and Ceddanne Rafaela. They’re second-time payors who are currently in the second penalty tier, thus subjecting them to a 42% tax on the the next $19MM or so that they spend.
If the Red Sox were to add another $20MM or more to the CBT ledger, that’d bump the tax rate to 75% for subsequent additions and, more notably, drop their top pick in the 2026 draft by ten spots. That’s probably the primary deterrent to spending beyond that point, though with the possible exception of Eugenio Suárez, none of the potential infield targets in question would thrust Boston into the third tier of penalization anyhow.
Readers — Red Sox fans in particular — are encouraged to check out the three linked pieces in full, as each has more extensive quotes from Breslow on the team’s offseason goals and the team’s pursuit of (Ranger) Suárez.
I hope they finally get something together for Donovan.
The Sox will be gaining a bunch of Cards fans with them picking up Gray and Contreras, but if they get Donny then there’s a good chance that they will get a lot more of the Cardinals fans to tune in ! I know I will be watching them. Just a different way of looking at it
No thanks. The last thing the Sox need is another left handed hitter.
How much more do the Phillies need to include to pull a Bohm – Harrison trade?
Throw in a cheesesteak from Angelo’s and deal.
Boem to my knowledge is not a strong defender and would require Mayer moving to second. No match.
I also don’t pay much respect to not getting Suarez. I’ve posted it before that he would make a solid DH if Yoshida could be dealt.
Finally, with all of the young guys deals becoming expensive in later years, I can actually see Rafaela, Belli and/or Campbell dealt after this season.
*Bello.
We don’t want him
Cubs are asking for the same return for Nico that they gave up for Tucker. Unless they are blown away you ain’t getting Nico.
From everything I’ve been reading I agree Hoerner isn’t going anywhere unless the Cubs get an offer they can’t refuse. But I’m curious from your perspective what is “blown away”?
I see why the Cubs are asking for the return. What’s a comp for An All Star 3B with years of control, a rotation depth piece with multiple years of control and a top 100 prospect? I thought Houston got blown away by the Cubs offer for Tucker and took it.
Very simple. Hoerner is in the last year of his deal. That will significantly reduce the return.
Hoerner doesn’t have years of control, he is a free agent at the end of the season. Unless they can lock him up to a longterm contract, I don’t see any reason the Sox would give them a blow you away offer for a one year rental.
Hoerner is good but certainly not Tucker. He stays in Chicago if they don’t lower their asking.
That’s silly, Nico is a very good player, but he’s not in Tucker’s stratosphere.
That’s what Hoyer said it would take at the Cubs Convention for him to trade Nico.
Define “stratosphere”?
On behalf of all the analytic nerds (I’m definitely not one!) I’d like to point out that Nico Hoerner’s 6.2 bWAR not only comfortably exceeded Kyle Tucker’s 4.6 number last season but was better than any yearly metric the latter has posted over his MLB career.
If you want to break down each player’s bWAR over a 162 Game Average, Hoerner scores a 5.0 mark to Tucker’s 5.8 score. Of course, Hoerner has demonstrated a far greater ability of actually approaching a full 162 game season thus far in his career than Tucker has, especially over the last 2 years.
There’s also the debate over who plays better defense and at a more premium position. Hoerner is a two-time Gold Glove 2B who also demonstrated plus metrics at SS before moving off the position to accommodate the FA signing of Dansby Swanson three years ago. Tucker did win a GG in RF for the Astros back in 2022 but his defensive numbers have declined significantly since then, especially last year with the Cubs. 🙂
bWAR really liked Hoerner last year in large part because they use DRS, which gave him a +17 (but only +4 the year before). FRV has him as +9, +9, +12 the past 3 seasons. He would rate even better defensively, but he has one of the weakest arms in all MLB – this lightly hurts his value as many/most teams are unlikely to see him as a SS option going forward.
But teams pay and trade more for the bat than glove or legs, so I can’t imagine him receiving nearly as much of a return as Tucker last year. Would be a great fit for the Red Sox – either for a player like Bello or if the Cubs want to offer much more to make a run at Duran.
There is no doubt Hoerner is highly desirable, but being a free agent after the season dramatically limits who is going to be willing to offer the “stratosphere” for a 1 year rental. That doesn’t fit the way the Sox run things. They are looking for trades with longterm benefits.
Shaw isn’t getting moved unless the conversation begins w Tolle or Early.
The conversation will quickly end then.
it actually never got started.
Baty and Senga to Boston for Duran
Not sure what the Sox would do with Senga.
Why do Mets fans keep suggesting their crap for Duran?
Baty has value but I wanted Jett Williams as part of the Duran return before he was dealt to Milwaukee. I’m not sure who else the Mets would offer that would interest Boston.
@Dewey
I also liked Jett in a Duran package. I’d still like Tong, Reimer and Ewing. But I don’t think the Mets are a candidate anymore.
Now that the Dbacks have made a move for Arenado, and still have Lawler/Alexander, a Duran+Bello+ trade makes a ton of sense. They’re currently slated to start replacement level Alek Thomas in CF and a platoon of quad-A and out of position players in LF until Gurriel returns. Duran would be a perfect fit for them. And they still need pitching.
😂😂😂
Why wouldn’t they just play their own youngster at 3rd and keep Duran?
Why not play Duran at 2B? He played there his whole life, including college. The Red Sox moved him to the outfield after he was drafted.
He’s only played 20 games there as a pro, in the penn league in 2018. Doubt he would adjust quickly given how long it took him to learn to play the OF. Far more likely Rafaela plays 2B.
Sure, but Red Sox include Yoshida. Then you have a deal.
Sox don’t want your retread left handed hitting infielder or your senga.. I’m not a big Duran guy by any means but that’s ludicrous
I like it. We could use some middle relief in Worcester
No thank you, we will keep Duran. We have too many pitchers as it is so where would Senga fit. Baty is left handed (we need a right banded bat) and we would be losing 30+ RBIs based on last year’s stats.
Wondering who else Chicago would want added to Jarren Duran for Matt Shaw?
The Sox are not trading Duran for Shaw. Odds are Hoerner and another player would have to be included
That’s a joke, right? I could see Harrison and Hamilton for Shaw ….
Why would it be a joke. 6 years of control for Shaw vs 3 for Duran. And considering Shaw was a 3.1 WAR player last year compared to 4.7 for Duran they’re not that far apart.
Shaw was worth 1.5 fWAR while Duran was worth 3.9 and 6.7 the year before. They were nowhere close to comparable. DRS (11) liked Shaw more than FRV (-1), but FRV is the current gold-standard for all-in-one defensive metrics while DRS is dated.
Shaw’s avg exit velocity was 84.9 (3rd percentile) while his hard hit % was 29.4% (7th percentile) – these led to a 93 wRC+, which may have been lucky. He also displayed a weak arm (81.9 arm strength; 35th percentile for 3rd baseman).
Shaw was so good last year that the Cubs decided to outbid the Red Sox for a 3rd baseman to replace him. He’ll likely get first crack at 2nd if/when Hoerner leaves after the 2026 season, but he has to work on establishing himself as a major league regular first before he’s a primary piece in a trade for a player like Duran – nevermind the whole offer.
(His decision to take a day off when his team was competing for a playoff spot, in order to attend a political rally, also brings up character/commitment questions)
You could have just said he is a democrat and the deal would have been dead. Lol
Keep overrating Duran. Him sitting on the bench isn’t going to be a big plus for the Sox going forward. And the more he ages and declines the less he’ll bring back in a trade.
Duran, by any measurement or from any source is an elite player. There’s no way he would sit on the bench. Give the reality the rest of us live in a try.
Nationals are selling, they just moved Gore. One for one swap, Kyle Harrison for Luis Garcia Jr.?
Garcia is a lefty who doesn’t field well at 2nd. Not a great fit for the Red Sox.
Get serious.
I don’t see the Sox adding another Infielder. I think it’s a lot of talk and they’ll go to training camp with what they have
The longer we go without even a whiff of reports about a serious pursuit of somebody, I agree. It feels like they’re just going to roll with Sogard or Eaton.
Breslow should call Bloom again, but not about Donovan, a deal for Winn should be the target.
Winn would be nice. But can’t imagine the Cardinals would be willing to trade him. Would have to overwhelm them with Arias+ to get their attention.
Herrera and their catchers would also be good fits. Was really hoping for Herrera last offseason when the Red Sox needed a starting catcher. All likely pipedreams though.
What not? Wetherholt is waiting in the wings.
I tend to believe that Eugenio is not on his way to Logan.
However, I could see the pieces coming together for Donovan more easily than Hoerner (nor do I think the Cubs will try to move Hoerner before the season starts).
Why is this writer pretending that Boston doesn’t have a DH spot to fill? You’re telling me Suarez wouldn’t be a great addition for that role? Bottom line: if they don’t pick up a big bat it won’t matter how many runs they save with pitching and defense. You can’t win if you can’t score. Boston will end up with an 80 or less win season.
Do you not realize that Boston presently has four should-be-everyday OFers plus Yoshida plus (when Casas finishes his injury) two first basemen?
The real question is: whatever gave you the idea that the team has a wide open DH spot? Then again, whatever gave you the idea that flawed pure power hitting is a necessary ingredient for scoring? No doubt that Boston could use more of a power threat, but you’re acting like one bat will make a 10-15 WAR difference. That isn’t how it works.
Lol ok man. Whatever you say. Cope harder. You think real life works like a video game. It doesn’t. You sound like the kind of person who sucked at baseball and has live vicariously through the television or video game console. Yoshida couldn’t hit his way out of a paper bag, and couldn’t play an outfield position to save his life. He’s complete dead weight, and nobody wants him. He only has a roster spot because Boston doesn’t want to shut the door on a Japanese player and screw up their chances of landing another one in the future. Casas is useless as well.
Harping on players that have been injured and calling it their healthy production is not only inaccurate but ignorant. Yoshida and Casas should be fine. Both needed health both need at-bats. That’s pretty much it.
Okie dokie genius. I guess we’ll find out very soon how wrong you are.
Pretending?.. it’s not pretending.. they have Yoshida whom is kind of a DH only. And 4 outfielders that will need to see DH time in order to get them all ABs. Not to mention, Casas will be up at some point… Sox have too many DH possibilities/ways they can fill the spot. They don’t need Suarez and his 200 Ks clogging up roster/lineup flexibility while displacing Masa whom is the best bat-ball guy on the team. Btw, Sox have been open about valuing bat-ball guys and dumping Masa would make no sense considering he’s the best at it on the team.
Who cares if Yoshida puts the bat on the ball if the ball goes directly into a fielders glove? He has zero pop, he’s a liability in the outfield and he’s slow. Give me a freaking break dude. And you’re still talking about Casas? Casas is terrible and is not getting any better. You guys continuously bs because you don’t want to admit that this team sucks offensively. It’s pathetic the way you people defend this organization like it’s a religion, and I guess in a sense is for you people. 80 wins maximum UNLESS they do something to improve their offense.
Your talent evaluation skills suck. Where exactly has Boston lost 9 wins from last year with the roster as it sits right now? Their pitching is immensely better and the offense hasn’t suffered any great loss.
FF pretty ignorant take. What part of NY are you from?
.282/.337/.425 ops+ 109 and WRC+109 those career numbers for Masataka Yoshida
.241/.348/.452 ops+ 119 and WRC+ 119 career numbers for Casas.
Neither one of them suck they can both hit when healthy and that’s the key. Casas has had back to back seasons of a serious injury. Is it fair to say he needs to show he can stay healthy? That’s very fair but when healthy he hits and hits for power.
Masataka Yoshida isn’t what you would normally want for a DH but saying he “can’t hit his way out of paper bag” that’s an ignorant statement. If you want to say he’s not worth 18 million, they should have a more impactful DH that’s fair but as it sits right now he is the DH assuming health and if healthy will hit. The Red Sox probably don’t make the post season without Masa raking in September after he ramped up from a season long injury.
The truth is Bostons offense will probably be better than most think with health and a full season from Roman Anthony. They will score now is it ideal that right now Mayer would be at third and a Romy/ Hamilton mix at second no it’s not and the back of the lineup is less than stellar but they will score runs and there pitching is way better and incredibly deep. So deep that if they determine they need an impact infield bat during the season they will have the pitching capital to get that bat. They will win more than 80 games unless they get decimated by position player injuries but with health this team as is makes the post and if Mayer and Campbell improve from last year and look like the players they were hoped to be they can win the division.
Okie dokie whatever you say. Put a pin in my comment and be ready to say I was right at the end of the season.
I’m not from NY, nor do I live there. I despise that city. It’s a dump. I guess ignorance means looking at a team and making a very obvious deduction of how terrible they are offensively.
Okay, you can play pretend math and apply over inflated meaning to numbers that are ultimately an overused metric for a game that is inherently human, and I will use a combination of math, intuition and the eye test, and we’ll see who is right at the end of the season. I don’t have a dog in the fight. If they did great then good for them, and if they sucked well, that’s too bad for them. I am barely even a fan of the MLB as a league at this point.
That’s obvious because baseball is a statistical game.
Everything is a “statistical game”, dude. Statistics provide a prediction/expectation: not an absolution. The inherently human part of the game still exists and very much affects the game. Pretending you’re a statistical expert or a talent expert because you look at baseball reference and you ran sims on MLB the show is extremely ignorant.
Never played MLB the show in my life. What I do know is a healthy Casas is a game changer offensively for the Boston what I do know is Masa can hit and is probably the best bet on the current Red Sox roster to hit second and move the leadoff hitter Anthony into scoring position at least against righties. You come out and just say someone is terrible like you have a clue defend it with something concrete. I showed that statistically they are both better than average. So defend your statement.
You pulled rubbish statistics from baseball reference and presented it as meaningful evidence. You spewed nonsense about statistics that you don’t even understand. Anyone can copy and paste make-believe valuations. Yoshida has not translated to American baseball. He wouldn’t be a starter on most, if any, teams. His value is solely in future transactions. He only hit well against garbage teams. Casas is one of the worst first basemen in the league. He’ll be lucky if he gets another contract. Not only is he a bad hitter against anyone better than a 3 A pitcher, he’s a liability in the field, a drama queen, and perpetually injured. Anything over 95 and the guy can’t get the bat off his shoulder. If he does, he fouls it, maybe, and the gets buried by an off speed pitch. It’s not rocket science.
You sound like another guy I argued with that told me Corbin Carroll would be out of the league in 2 years that was based on what I don’t know. You talked about not being a fan of baseball but it was so easy yet everyone of your predictions were so far off looks like you changed your moniker I’m trying to remember it something about Cleveland maybe.
What you’re saying about Casas is exactly wrong he hammers high velocity fastballs out over the plate he has high swing speed. Like most big lefties he does have a hole up and in against high velocity. He’s a very patient hitter and knows the strike zone very well so yes he does watch some pitches but he will benefit from the automated zone because a lot of times he’s probably correct. In 2025 before his knee injury he was asked to ambush pitches early in the count but that’s not him and he struggled with that but he would have been fine. You got one thing right though he’s had a very hard time staying healthy.
Dude, I would happily be proven wrong about Casas. I just don’t think I am. Also, I am huge fan of baseball. I played for a long time (past college): I am not a fan of the MLB. I think it’s a trash product.
And no, we haven’t spoken before. I just started doing this like a month and a half ago? I’m open to criticism, or alternative opinions, but I really do think I’m right about Boston this year.
1. Shaw won’t be traded.
2. Nico won’t be traded.
3. Nico won’t be extended.
4. Shaw will play 2B in 2027.
This is the right answer.
I would add “2.5. Cubs will have tons of flexibility in their line up and defense with both Shaw and Hoerner”
Great writing since you left out the person they are trying to trade for lol Paredes. Might want to update the article and put him in there.
The Sox need a SS, not a 2b, Story is now a 2b, for whatever portion of the season he isn’t injured.
Javier Baez is packing his bags and Boston bound!
This would make some sense if the Cubs were actually listening on Hoerner or Shaw and multiple sources including Olney confirmed that the Sox interest in Donovan isn’t so serious because he’s a lefty.
Cubs asking price to even start talking Hoerner is INSANE. Think Kyle Tucker is the word on the street.
Does this mean Hoerner will get $240M in a 4-year deal?
Haha never know I guess… I certainly don’t view him the same way the Mets and Dodgers did.
If they want Mayer to play 3B then they should just bring back Keke Hernandez (the Sox loved him and the Dodgers recently released him) who can play all the infield and outfield positions and is great in the clubhouse! Then plant Mayer on 3rd and take a deep breath!
“Breslow, unsurprisingly, wouldn’t comment directly on whether any subsequent additions are on the horizon.”
“Unsurprisingly” should start the sentence, not come in the middle between commas. You’ve disrupted the syntax for no good reason, making for a choppy reading experience that weakens the point. In fact, it doesn’t even need commas around it where it is, because this is also correct:
“Breslow unsurprisingly wouldn’t comment directly on whether any subsequent additions are on the horizon.”
I keep hearing how the team wants to put Mayer on 3rd and find a suitable candidate at second, ad we hat happens.A great plan, it they haven’t been able to find that guy. WHY MAKE IS SO HARD?????
Kike Hernandez played for the Sox, in the outfield, in the infield, was a huge presence in the clubhouse and was released by the Dodgers. Pick him up, put Mayer on third, Kike on second and take a deep breath. Amen