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White Sox Notes: Hicks, Sandlin, Leasure

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The White Sox pulled off another significant transaction yesterday, acquiring right-handers Jordan Hicks and David Sandlin, two players to be named later, and $8MM in cash (to help cover Hicks’ $24MM salary) for pitching prospect Gage Ziehl and a player to be named later.  It is the third notable move in four days for Chicago, after the Pale Hose signed Seranthony Dominguez and Austin Hays to free agent contracts.

Between the $12MM owed to Hicks in 2026, Hays’ $6MM guarantee in a one-year deal, and the $8MM allotted for Dominguez in the first season of his two-year, $20MM contract, it adds up to a $26MM outlay for the White Sox on this trio for the upcoming season. It’s a pretty close match for the $20MM Chicago had committed to Luis Robert Jr. before the outfielder and his contract were dealt to the Mets on January 20.

“With the payroll flexibility that we gained through that move, we wanted to utilize that money toward players that could help us for the long term as we continue to take the next step.  There are different avenues to do that,” White Sox GM Chris Getz told reporters (including SoxMachine’s James Fegan and MLB.com’s Scott Merkin), further noting that “adding a Sandlin is essentially part of a Luis Robert return.”

That’s a bit of a eyebrow-raising comment, given that Chicago’s payroll currently sits at a paltry $85.5MM, per RosterResource.  To suggest that Sandlin’s acquisition was only possible in conjunction with a Robert trade would imply that the Chicago-based club can’t support a payroll that includes Robert, Dominguez, Hays and Hicks — but that would’ve only pushed the payroll to around $105MM.  Perhaps owner Jerry Reinsdorf truly won’t green-light a payroll north of $100MM at present, but the South Siders trotted out a $181MM Opening Day payroll as recently as 2023 (and $193MM in 2022).  Getz’s assertion that Sandlin is indirectly part of the Robert return is either a case of some serious spin or an eye-opening acknowledgement of severe budget restrictions put in place by Reinsdorf.

Regardless,  it seems that Sandlin has been on Chicago’s radar for a good while now, and Getz views the hard-throwing right-hander as someone who’s “going to come into Spring Training and compete for a spot” in the team’s rotation.  Sandlin has only 23 2/3 Triple-A innings to his name, and he struggled to a 7.61 ERA during that brief stint with Triple-A Worcester in 2025.  Even if he doesn’t crack the club’s Opening Day rotation, it’s perfectly plausible that he’ll be an option to join the staff later in the season as he gets more experience at the top minor league level.

Beyond this young arm in Sandlin, Hicks brings some experience to the pitching staff, though he’s a pure rebound candidate.  The righty posted a 6.95 ERA across 67 1/3 innings with the Giants and Red Sox in 2025, with subpar strikeout (18.5%) and walk (10.2%) rates.  Hicks’ 4.41 SIERA also wasn’t great but is a better reflection of his performance, since it factored in some bad batted-ball luck, as the grounder specialist was hurt by a .352 average on balls in play.

Health was also a factor. Hicks spent a little under two months on the injured list dealing with toe inflammation and then tendinitis in his throwing shoulder.  On this front, Hicks told media that he has recovered well, and is up to throwing 99.5mph in a recent bullpen session. “My body’s in a great place, probably the best it’s been since 2023,” Hicks said.  “I’m fit for whatever role that the team needs me in.  I think that I can do very well in both [starting and relieving].  I’m just excited for the opportunity mostly, and ready to get back on the field.”

For now, the White Sox plan to use Hicks as a relief pitcher, Getz stated.  This isn’t surprising given how Hicks struggled as a starter with the Giants and was converted back to relief work partway through each of the last two seasons.  Hicks has spent the bulk of his career in the ’pen and had better results as a reliever than as a starter.

Speaking of relief pitchers, the White Sox discussed another reliever during their negotiations with the Red Sox.  MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reports that the two sides “had serious discussions” about including Jordan Leasure in the deal before the Red Sox instead went with Ziehl as the named player in the two-player return.

Whereas Ziehl has yet to reach Triple-A, the 27-year-old Leasure has two seasons of MLB experience, with 101 games for Chicago.  Leasure made his debut in 2024 and posted a 6.32 ERA over 31 1/3 innings, but improved on that mark significantly with a 3.92 ERA and 30.1% strikeout rate over 64 1/3 frames in 2025.  The right-hander’s 11.2% walk rate was still on the high side, but a step up from Leasure’s 12.7 BB% in 2024.

There’s no real reason to think Chicago is actively shopping Leasure, but it’s of some note that they at least considered it — particularly with how many clubs around the league are looking for affordable bullpen help.  Leasure will pitch the bulk of the upcoming season at 27 (28 in mid-August), has a pair of minor league options remaining, and won’t be arbitration-eligible until next offseason, when he’ll likely be a Super Two player.

White Sox Acquire Jordan Hicks

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The White Sox are using a stripped down payroll to add to the system, announcing Sunday that they’ve acquired right-hander Jordan Hicks, pitching prospect David Sandlin, two players to be named later and cash from the Red Sox in exchange for minor league righty Gage Ziehl and a player to be named later. Chicago will take on two-thirds of the money on Hicks’ underwater contract, so the trade effectively amounts to the White Sox purchasing Sandlin from the Red Sox.

Boston clears $16MM of the $24MM Hicks was owed over the next two seasons off their books. The move lowers their current luxury tax payroll to $258MM according to RosterResource, just below the $264MM threshold for the second tier of penalization.

There have been some indications dating back to the early parts of the offseason that Boston prefers to stay under that second threshold, though trades for pricey veterans such as Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras in addition to the signing of Ranger Suarez had previously pushed them over that line. Trading away the bulk of Hicks’ salary has allowed them to sneak back under, though with the team still known to be looking for infield help it’s entirely possible that additional moves could change that positioning.

In order to get Hicks off the books, the Red Sox are parting ways with Sandlin, ranked as Boston’s No. 11 prospect by Baseball America headed into the 2026 campaign. The soon-to-be 25-year-old righty struggled over 23 2/3 Triple-A innings last year, but he pitched to an impressive 3.61 ERA across 17 outings (13 starts) at the Double-A level with a 25.4% strikeout rate.

Sandlin is viewed as a player with a chance to stick in a big league rotation who could’ve helped Boston’s bullpen as soon as this year, but now he’ll head to Chicago where he’ll have an easier chance to find a big league role in the short-term. Shane Smith, Davis Martin, Sean Burke, Anthony Kay, and Sean Newcomb currently stand as the team’s projected starters entering Spring Training, but Sandlin could join players like Jonathan Cannon, and fellow former Red Sox hurler Chris Murphy in standing as a primary depth option behind those players, with a chance to earn a job on the big league club out of camp this spring.

Going the other way is Ziehl, who Baseball America ranked as Chicago’s No. 21 prospect headed into the 2026 campaign. Acquired from the Yankees over the summer in the Austin Slater trade, Ziehl made his pro debut last year with a 4.12 ERA in 22 appearances (21 starts) across the Single-A, High-A, and Double-A levels. The righty has a five-pitch repertoire led by a solid sweeper, but the rest of his arsenal draws unimpressive marks despite previous scouting reports that suggested his fastball could top out at 97mph. The righty figures to start the year at Double-A for the Red Sox, but questions remain about whether he can be more than a long reliever in the majors.

The deal is a sensible one for the White Sox to make as they look to accelerate their rebuild and gather more credible MLB talent. After trading Luis Robert Jr. to the Mets in a deal that garnered infielder Luisangel Acuña, the Sox have reinvested in the big league club by signing Austin Hays to replace Robert in the outfield and adding Seranthony Dominguez to a bullpen that needed some veteran late-inning help.

This latest move adds another young pitcher close to the majors (Sandlin) while also bringing an intriguing bounce-back candidate into the fold. While Hicks wasn’t likely to have a role with the Red Sox this year after struggling to an 8.20 ERA with the club, there’s little reason for Chicago to not roll the dice on a player with an upper-90s fastball and a history of success in the majors.

Hicks has primarily pitched as a starter in recent years after signing with the Giants as a rotation piece, but his biggest successes (including a dominant 2023 season with the Cardinals and Blue Jays) saw him pitch in relief. It’s unclear what role Hicks will take with the White Sox this season, but given their lack of established bullpen pieces (outside of Dominguez) and their deep group of potential starting options, perhaps a move back to the bullpen could make some sense for the hard-throwing righty. Should he return to the bullpen this year, he’ll have the chance to join the likes of Mike Vasil, Jordan Leasure, and Grant Taylor in handling setup duties behind Dominguez.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported that Hicks and Sandlin were being traded to Chicago. James Fegan of Sox Machine reported that Ziehl and a PTBNL were going the other direction. Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com and Will Sammon of The Athletic reported financial details of the swap.

Red Sox, Matt Thaiss Agree To Minor-League Deal

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The Red Sox have agreed to a minor-league deal with catcher Matt Thaiss, according to Andrew Parker of SoxProspects (link via Chris Cotillo of MassLive). Thaiss receives an invite to big-league Spring Training.

The 30-year-old was a first-round pick out of the University of Virginia in 2016 by the Angels. He debuted for them in 2019, batting .211/.293/.422 with an 86 wRC+ and a .211 ISO in 164 plate appearances that year. Thaiss has continued to post mid-80s wRC+ values throughout his career. After not getting much playing time from 2020-22, he got an extended look in 2023, making 307 PA in 95 games for the Halos. His 27.0% strikeout rate that year was worse than average, though his above-average 11.7% walk rate kept his on-base percentage above .300 even as he posted a low batting average.

In 2024, Logan O’Hoppe’s ascension to the starting catcher role limited Thaiss’s playing time. That November, the team signed Travis d’Arnaud as their new backup catcher and designated Thaiss for assignment. He was traded first to the Cubs and then eventually to the White Sox. He split 2025 between the White Sox and the Rays, batting .218/.349/.288 with an 89 wRC+ that was plenty serviceable for a backup catcher. Reviews of his defense were mixed. He was worth 3 Defensive Runs Saved in 411 2/3 innings behind the plate this year, drawing positive marks for his blocking. On the flip side, Statcast rated his caught stealing rate, framing, and pop time all in the 18th percentile or lower.

For the Red Sox, Thaiss is a no-risk depth option behind incumbent Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong. Narvaez had a 97 wRC+ in 446 PA this year and was worth 10 DRS behind the plate. Wong and Thaiss won’t challenge him for starting time, but Thaiss’s consistent mid-80s wRC+ and above-average walk rate could challenge Wong for the backup spot, where Wong was a decent defender but a black hole offensively in 2025 (39 wRC+). Thaiss has over three years of service time and is out of options.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

Red Sox “Checked In” On Nico Hoerner, Matt Shaw

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Alex Bregman’s decision to sign with the Cubs left the Red Sox with some uncertainty within their infield picture, as both second base and Bregman’s old third base position remain unsettled heading into Spring Training.  Top prospect Marcelo Mayer seems to be penciled into one of the two spots, with Mayer likely playing third while the collection of Romy Gonzalez, Nick Sogard, and/or Kristian Campbell will handle the playing time at the keystone.

A new acquisition could certainly change this picture, and such free agents and trade targets as Isaac Paredes, Brendan Donovan, and Eugenio Suarez remain available.  Plenty of other players remain on Boston’s radar, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes that the Red Sox “are among the many teams that have checked in about” Cubs infielders Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw.

There would be some irony if a trade came together between Bregman’s new and former teams, though there is no sense that a deal is anywhere close between Boston and Chicago.  Trade speculation swirled around Hoerner and Shaw even before Bregman arrived in Wrigleyville, with the Yankees, Giants, and Mariners all reportedly showing interest in Hoerner.  While the Cubs may be at least open to hearing offers for Hoerner out of due diligence, however, there isn’t much indication that the team has any real interest in moving the two-time Gold Glover.

The Bregman signing solidified Chicago’s starting infield alignment as Bregman at third, Hoerner at second, Dansby Swanson at shortstop, and Michael Busch at first base.  Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Seiya Suzuki line up as the starting outfield trio, and the open DH spot could be a revolving door for several players to get partial rest days.  This in turn would open up playing time for Shaw or another top prospects in Moises Ballesteros and Kevin Alcantara, and give these youngsters some semi-regular at-bats in the majors without the pressure of a true everyday role on a contending team.

Trading Hoerner or Shaw would immediately alter the Cubs’ plans for the coming season at least, and moving Shaw would have a longer-term impact since he only just made his MLB debut in 2025.  Hoerner is a free agent next winter, and with Bregman now locked into the hot corner, the thought has been that Shaw could take over from Hoerner as second base.  (The Cubs are also considering Shaw as an outfield option to expand his versatility.)

Even with Hoerner nearing the open market, it would take a lot for the Cubs to part ways with a proven veteran who is probably the best defensive second baseman in baseball, not to mention an above-average hitter (106 wRC+) over the last five seasons.  It would take even more for Chicago to deal a top prospect like Shaw who comes with so much team control, yet Boston’s pitching depth could at least get the Cubs to take notice.  Since Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd will also be free agents next season, bringing aboard a Payton Tolle or a Connelly Early would be an intriguing way for the Cubs to bolster their rotation over the longer term.  It is safe to say that Tolle or Early would only be on the table (if at all) for Shaw, as the Sox aren’t likely to move either of those arms for one year of Hoerner.

While Shaw has the prospect pedigree to interest any team, it would be quite a pivot if the Red Sox traded from their high-level pitching depth to acquire a young infielder, given how Boston (in theory) already has plenty of position-player building blocks in place.  If Mayer is able to stay healthy and break out as a big leaguer, that provides a ton of stability at either third base, second base, or at shortstop if Mayer is ultimately the heir apparent to Trevor Story.  In this sense, bringing in Hoerner as a somewhat overqualified stopgap for the 2026 season might be a better fit to give the Sox more time to see what they have in Meyer or Campbell.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has been very active on the trade front since taking over Boston’s front office in October 2023, though the Garrett Cooper-for-cash considerations deal in April 2024 remains the only deal swung between Breslow and his former team.  For the 2019-23 seasons, Breslow worked in the Cubs front office, and he was promoted to an assistant GM role during the 2020-21 offseason after Jed Hoyer was promoted to president of Chicago’s baseball operations.

Red Sox Have Had Trade Talks Involving Jordan Hicks

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The Red Sox seemingly have enough pitching depth to consider trading some. Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports that Patrick Sandoval, Brayan Bello and Jordan Hicks have been discussed in trade talks. Reporting back in December indicated that both Bello and Sandoval were garnering interest from other clubs.

It isn’t specified which party brought up Hicks in these trade talks but presumably the Sox have been trying to shop him, as opposed to other teams trying especially hard to acquire him. He has some good major league results on his track record but hasn’t been effective lately and his contract is not favorable.

Two years ago, the Giants signed him to a four-year, $44MM deal, hoping to convert him from the bullpen to the rotation. That experiment went well initially before Hicks seemingly ran out of gas. He posted a 1.59 earned run average through the end of April, but then had a 3.99 ERA in May, 5.24 in June and 8.40 in July.

He was moved back to the bullpen later in the year and also spent some time on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation. He didn’t get things on track in 2025. He was eventually included in the Rafael Devers trade as financial ballast and finished the season with a 6.95 ERA between the two clubs.

Prior to signing that deal, Hicks had some decent results out of the St. Louis bullpen, riding his triple-digit velocity to a groundball-heavy approach. At the end of the 2023 season, he had a career ERA of 3.85. His 12.8% walk rate was high but he struck out 24.5% of batters faced and induced grounders on 60.4% of balls in play. Some teams probably have interest in him as a bounceback candidate but he is still owed $24MM over the next two years, so Boston would have to pay down most of that in order to line up a deal.

The commonality with Sandoval, Bello and Hicks as that they’re all making decent money, with Bello still owed $50.5MM through 2029, including the $1MM buyout on a 2030 club option. Sandoval will make $12.75MM in 2026.

RosterResource currently projects the Sox for a payroll of $197MM and a competitive balance tax figure of $266MM. They finished 2025 with a pure payroll of $209MM and a $247MM CBT calculation. If they are willing to spend to last year’s levels, the pure payroll has some wiggle room but perhaps the upcoming higher tax budget eats up some of that difference.

Trading one of these contracts could create some extra payroll room. The Sox could use a second base upgrade, though free agency doesn’t really have any amazing solutions remaining. Guys like Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ramón Urías are out there but arguably don’t provide a huge upgrade over Boston’s current group of Romy González, Nick Sogard and David Hamilton. The Sox are also looking for catching upgrades and presumably want to add another reliever or two while leaving some wiggle room for in-season maneuvering.

Photo courtesy of Eric Canha, Imagn Images

Does Kristian Campbell Have A Role On The 2026 Red Sox?

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Kristian Campbell was one of the most exciting players in the sport at this time a year ago. Baseball America had ranked him the #4 prospect in MLB on the heels of a .330/.439/.558 showing in the minors. Campbell was generally viewed alongside or even slightly above Marcelo Mayer as the Red Sox’s second-best prospect behind Roman Anthony. The organization seemed to share that assessment, as they built their trade package for Garrett Crochet around Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery rather than including anyone in their top three.

Campbell broke camp despite a mediocre Spring Training performance. He started at second base on Opening Day and got out to a roaring start, hitting .301/.407/.495 through the end of April. Boston quickly locked him up on an eight-year extension that guaranteed $60MM and extended their club control window by as many as four seasons.

Nine months later, it’s not clear if he has a path to playing time in the short term. Campbell’s bat cratered after the scorching start. He hit .159/.243/.222 over 140 plate appearances between the start of May and the middle of June. The Sox optioned him to Triple-A on June 20 and kept him in the minors for the rest of the season.

Campbell posted good numbers in the minors, at least on the surface. He hit .273/.382/.417 across 319 Triple-A plate appearances. It certainly wasn’t on par with his breakout 2024 season, but that’s above-average production at age 23. Yet it came with an elevated 26.3% strikeout rate that was more than six points higher than his mark from the previous season. Campbell also averaged a paltry 84 MPH off the bat with a 30% hard contact rate, and he put more than half his batted balls on the ground. He took a lot of walks and the results were good overall, yet the batted ball data wasn’t all that encouraging.

The track record is strong enough that Campbell remains a promising offensive player, albeit with less confidence that he’ll be an impact bat than they probably had a year ago. The biggest concern is on the other side of the ball.

Campbell’s second base defense was a disaster. Defensive Runs Saved graded him 16 runs below average in 471 2/3 innings. Only Luis García Jr. had a worse DRS mark at the position, and that came in twice as many innings. Campbell was tied for third from the bottom in Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric (again behind players who got more time at the position). He committed seven errors and had a .968 fielding percentage that was last among the 38 second basemen to play 400+ innings.

It was bad enough that it seems the Red Sox have essentially given up on Campbell as a viable second baseman. He only started 11 games there in the minors, none of which came after August 8. Campbell closed the season bouncing between left field, center field and first base.

The Red Sox have a question at second base but don’t appear to be seriously considering Campbell there. They’re reportedly focused on defense as they look outside the organization for help at the keystone. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow acknowledged last week that the Sox are “going to give (Campbell) a look in the outfield” (link via Christopher Smith of MassLive). David Hamilton, Romy Gonzalez and Nick Sogard lead an uninspiring internal group of second base options. They’ve traded for Willson Contreras and still have Triston Casas — who is ironically in a somewhat similar spot as Campbell — ahead of him on the first base depth chart.

Campbell is a good enough athlete that it’s not out of the question that he’ll be a solid outfielder. The Red Sox don’t have many at-bats to offer him there, though. They’re already loaded across the outfield with Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Anthony. Breslow has consistently downplayed their desire to trade Duran or Abreu. That seems less likely now that they’ve addressed the rotation in other ways. They’re not going to move an established above-average regular merely to open playing time for Campbell.

The Sox did lose lefty masher Rob Refsnyder in free agency, but they’re planning to give Abreu more at-bats against southpaws. Relegating the righty-hitting Campbell to a short side platoon role isn’t ideal for his development. Breslow pointed to 29-year-old Nate Eaton as a possibility to pick up some of the at-bats that Refsnyder had taken.

It leaves Campbell without a clear role as Spring Training approaches. If the Red Sox don’t feel he’s a viable infielder, he’s not going to have much utility off the bench. He still has two minor league options and could go back to Triple-A. That’s the likeliest outcome to begin the season and would at least give him continued work in the outfield. They can bide their time that way, but it’s clearly not an ideal setup for a player who very recently looked like a franchise player.

There hasn’t been anything to suggest the Red Sox are considering trade possibilities this offseason. Although Campbell’s extension doesn’t preclude them from trading him, it’d be essentially without precedent for a team to sell low on a top prospect who is one season into an eight-year deal. The Sox could probably shed the entire contract if that were their only goal, but they’d need to accept pennies on the dollar in terms of the trade return.

Maybe the situation will sort itself out early in the season. An outfield injury or two could get Campbell into the lineup. No one is writing off his career before he turns 24. It’s nevertheless rare for opportunities to dry up as quickly as they have for a player who was held in this regard as a prospect. If Campbell spends the first half of the season in the minors and the Sox are contending, he may become a more realistic trade candidate around the deadline.

Image courtesy of John Jones, Imagn Images.

Red Sox Sign Tayron Guerrero To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox announced the signing of reliever Tayron Guerrero to a minor league deal with an invite to MLB camp. Andrew Parker of Sox Prospects first reported the agreement earlier this month.

Guerrero returns to affiliated ball after spending the 2025 season in Japan. The hulking 6’8″ righty signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines last offseason. It was his second stint with the club, as Guerrero also pitched for the Marines back in 2022. His first stint went better than last year’s, as he allowed a 6.41 ERA over 19 2/3 NPB innings. He spent the majority of the season with their minor league affiliate as a result.

The 35-year-old Guerrero last pitched in the majors in 2019. He has 106 innings of MLB experience, turning in a 5.77 earned run average. Guerrero has allowed an even seven earned runs per nine over 117 career Triple-A frames. Various teams have been intrigued enough to continue giving him looks as a depth reliever on the strength of his velocity. Guerrero averages 99 MPH on his fastball but has never had great feel for command.

Boston will give the Colombian-born hurler a look in camp. He’s unlikely to win an Opening Day job but will have an opportunity to put himself on the radar for a midseason call if he impresses during exhibition play and with Triple-A Worcester.

Latest On Red Sox’ Infield Pursuits

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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.

MLBTR Podcast: What The Tucker And Bichette Contracts Mean For Baseball – Also, Nolan Arenado And Ranger Suarez

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • The overlapping stories at the top of the market and what they might mean: The Dodgers agreed to a deal with Kyle Tucker. The Mets gave Tucker a similar offer but then pivoted to signing Bo Bichette. Tucker had a long-term offer from the Blue Jays and Bichette from the Phillies but both went for the short-term deals. Is this some kind of paradigm shift or just unique circumstances? (1:50)
  • Could we ever predict this type of pivot in our Top 50 post in future years? (17:25)
  • How these deals impact parity, the upcoming expected lockout, collective bargaining agreement, etc. (34:35)
  • Bichette’s fit in the Mets’ position player mix (recorded prior to the Luis Robert Jr. trade) (1:04:25)
  • The Cardinals trading Nolan Arenado to the Diamondbacks (1:15:25)
  • The Red Sox signing Ranger Suárez (1:26:55)

Check out our past episodes!

  • The Cubs Land Cabrera And Bregman, Remaining Free Agents, And Skubal’s Arbitration Filing – listen here
  • Contracts For Imai And Okamoto, And Thoughts On The Pirates And Giants – listen here
  • Three-Way Trade, Murakami’s Short-Term Deal, And Willson Contreras To Boston – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of David Banks, Imagn Images

Red Sox Sign Ranger Suárez

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The Red Sox officially announced the signing of left-hander Ranger Suárez to a five-year deal Wednesday. He’ll reportedly be guaranteed $130MM in total, and the contract contains a mutual option for the 2031 campaign. It’s a fairly straightforward deal that contains no deferrals, opt-outs or no-trade protection. Boston opened a 40-man spot for the veteran lefty this morning when trading infielder Tristan Gray to the Twins. Suárez is represented by the Boras Corporation.

Suárez’s contract is reportedly backloaded in significant fashion, paying him just a $3MM signing bonus and $7MM salary in 2026. He’ll earn $15MM in 2027 before his salary doubles to $30MM in each of the next two years (2028-29). Suárez will be paid $35MM in 2030 and is also guaranteed a $10MM buyout on that mutual option, which is valued at $35MM. Mutual options are never exercised by both parties, so the inclusion of one in this deal is little more than a mechanism to further backload the contract.

The Sox came into the offseason with a rotation headlined by Garrett Crochet, followed by a notable gap to their other starters. They had a lot of options for back-end types and depth but were looking to bolster the front end.

“Because of the depth that we’ve built up over the last couple of years, we feel pretty good about just overall starting pitching, maybe No. 3-ish through No. 10-ish,” was how chief baseball officer Craig Breslow framed the situation in November. “And that’s not to take away from guys who are certainly capable of doing more, and more just to say I don’t think we’re going to spend a ton of time trying to add a No. 4, No. 5 starter.”

Since then, Breslow has made a couple of moves to alter that rotation group. He acquired Sonny Gray from the Cardinals and Johan Oviedo from the Pirates. They subtracted a bit from the depth by including Richard Fitts in the Gray deal and Hunter Dobbins in a separate Cardinals trade that netted first baseman Willson Contreras.

Gray is arguably the kind of No. 2 starter the club was looking for. His 4.28 earned run average in 2025 has some Boston fans disputing that assessment but he has a 3.63 ERA, 27% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate and 44.6% ground ball rate in 531 innings dating back to the start of 2023. FanGraphs ranks him fifth in wins above replacement among pitchers in that time, behind only Tarik Skubal, Zack Wheeler, Logan Webb and Cristopher Sánchez.

Since the Gray deal, Boston has seemingly been more focused on upgrading its lineup and position player mix, targeting infielders like Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Ketel Marte, Brendan Donovan and Isaac Paredes. Clearly, Boston hit a wall in those efforts. Bregman signed with the Cubs, and Bichette landed with the Mets. The D-backs have reportedly taken Marte off the market. Paredes and Donovan could still be available, though Houston has shown minimal interest in dealing the former. Having come up empty (so far) in that pursuit of a marquee infielder, the Red Sox pivoted to further augment an already strong rotation.

Suárez’s contract is notable on a few fronts. For one, Breslow has generally avoided long-term free agent deals since becoming Boston’s chief baseball officer. Coming into today, his longest deal for a free agent was to give Bregman three years, which turned into a one-year relationship when Bregman opted out. The Sox came into today as the only one of the 30 major league clubs to not have signed a free agent this winter. This deal will be a new benchmark for Breslow in terms of years and guarantee given to a free agent, as well as erasing Boston’s status as the only team not to spend money on free agency this offseason.

It’s also a notable deal for Suárez in a few different ways. For one thing, he was a fairly low-profile international signing of the Phillies at the start of his professional career, securing a bonus of just $25K. As he has become a major leaguer, he has pushed his salary up in arbitration with his strong results but his lack of volume has limited him. He just made $8.8MM in his final year of arbitration, relatively modest by modern standards, but will now be securing a much bigger payday than ever before.

Speaking of his strong results but limited overall workload, that impacted the view of his market coming into this winter. Broadly speaking, Suárez has been really good on a rate basis, but he doesn’t throw especially hard and has dealt with some nagging injuries, impacting the overall quantity of his contributions.

He first became a full-time starter for the Phillies in 2022 and held a rotation job for four years. Over that span, he logged 588 1/3 innings with a 3.59 ERA. His 21.9% strikeout rate was around league average. His 7.5% walk rate was solid and his 50.8% ground ball rate quite good. He also earned a reputation as a cold-blooded playoff contributor, giving the Phils 42 2/3 postseason innings with a 1.48 ERA.

However, Suárez’s velocity has never been huge and has been trending down. His four-seam fastball averaged a bit over 93 miles per hour in 2022 and 2023. That dropped to 91.8 mph in 2024 and 91.3 mph last year. His primary pitch, his sinker, averaged just 90.1 mph in 2025.

Suárez also still hasn’t really pitched a full big league season. He hasn’t had any major injury concerns but has had scattered issues over the years, with lower back problems being a recurring thorn. Thanks to those sporadic health problems, he’s never hit the 30-start mark or the 160-inning plateau in any season as a big leaguer.

Given his clear skills but also his question marks, MLBTR predicted Suárez for a five-year, $115MM deal at the beginning of the offseason, $23MM in terms of average annual value. The top of the free agent starting pitching market has been slow to move this winter. Dylan Cease and the Blue Jays quickly found each other but it’s been a bit tepid otherwise.

Prior to this, no other starter apart from Cease signed a deal longer than than three years or for more than $75MM. Tatsuya Imai settled for three years and $54MM, significantly below the expectations from the outset of the offseason. As Suárez and Framber Valdez lingered unsigned into the new year, it was fair to wonder if they would meet the initial expectations. Suárez has not only met MLBTR’s prediction but surpassed it by a margin of $3MM per season.

Despite some concerns with Suárez, the move gives Boston one of the best rotations in baseball, if not the very best. Crochet is the clear ace. Suárez and Gray will have two spots behind him, followed by Brayan Bello. Oviedo seems to be in a decent position to land the No. 5 spot, but he would also have competition from injury returnees like Patrick Sandoval and Kutter Crawford. It’s possible Tanner Houck jumps into the mix late in the year, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in August.

Prospects Connelly Early and Payton Tolle made big league debuts late in 2025 and could push for jobs as well. Kyle Harrison, David Sandlin, Shane Drohan and Tyler Uberstine are also on the 40-man roster. Those latter six names all have minor league options and either have limited big league experience or none at all, so they could all be sent to the minors as depth. Crawford has a decent amount of big league experience but is still optionable, so it’s possible for him to be squeezed to Worcester as well.

It’s also fair to wonder if this Suárez deal sets the Red Sox up to trade some starting pitching for the infield upgrade they didn’t get when Bregman slipped through their fingers and Bichette signed with the Mets. They have been connected to Donovan many times and have already lined up a few trades with Chaim Bloom, Boston’s former chief baseball officer who is now president of baseball operations with the Cardinals.

Donovan isn’t the only option out there. The Sox were also connected to Marte as strongly as any club in baseball. While the Diamondbacks have reportedly taken him off the market, Breslow could always try to force the issue with an offer headlined by Tolle or Early (in addition to other young pieces). Nico Hoerner’s name has also come up in some trade rumors after the Cubs signing Bregman. Jake Cronenworth of the Padres has been in a few rumors.

All those players would have varying level of trade value due to their different salaries and years of control, but the same is also true of Boston’s pitchers. Early and Tolle are big prospects and would only be given up for a big return. Sandoval has one year left on his contract and has been injured for most of the past two years, so his trade value is marginal, at best. Bello has even been in some rumors and he would be somewhere in between, as he is owed $50.5MM over the next four years and has been more good than great.

Since it feels likely that at least one more significant move is coming, the club’s financial picture is probably still in flux. For now, RosterResource pegs the club’s payroll at $197.5MM with a competitive balance tax calculation just under $266MM.

The Sox avoided the tax in 2023 and 2024. They went narrowly over the line in 2025, paying a tax bill of just $1.5MM. That will make them second-time payors in 2026, giving them a base tax rate of 30% for going over the first threshold of $244MM. The second threshold is $264MM and the Sox would pay a 42% on further spending above that line. If they go beyond $284MM, the tax rate would jump to 75% for spending above that line and their top pick in the 2027 draft would be dropped by ten spots.

Speaking of the draft, the Sox are going to be impacted by this Suárez signing in 2026. Suárez rejected a qualifying offer from the Phillies, meaning the Sox are subject to the associated penalties for signing him. Since the Sox paid the tax last year, they have to forfeit their second- and fifth-highest draft picks this summer, in addition to losing $1MM in international bonus pool space. The Phillies will receive a compensation pick after the fourth round of the upcoming draft.

Prior to this deal with the Red Sox, Suárez was connected to the Orioles, Astros and Mets, though other clubs presumably had interest even if they weren’t connected to him in public reports. For the teams who missed out on Suárez, there are still some options they can turn to, despite the relatively late stage of the offseason.

Valdez and Zac Gallen are the top two free agents, with Chris Bassitt, Justin Verlander, Lucas Giolito and others still unsigned. The trade market still has some potential options, including MacKenzie Gore and Freddy Peralta. Valdez has to be pleased with Suárez getting a deal beyond expectations even at this part of the calendar. They are fairly similar pitchers as groundballers. Valdez is a bit older but throws harder and has the more impressive track record overall.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that the Sox would be signing Suárez. Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported the length and guarantee, as well as the lack of deferrals and opt-outs. Chris Cotillo of MassLive first reported the lack of a no-trade clause, the inclusion of a mutual option, and the annual breakdown of the contract. Photos courtesy of Bill Streicher, Brad Penner, Imagn Images

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