Ranger Suárez represented a reimagining of the Red Sox’ approach to contending for 2026.
When Alex Bregman elected to sign with the Cubs last Saturday night, the Sox quickly changed lanes. Rather than a redoubling of efforts to find another position player, they turned to Suárez — a consistently strong contributor who delivered postseason wizardry for the Phillies the last four years — on a five-year, $130 million deal.
With a rotation fronted by Garrett Crochet, Suárez, Sonny Gray, and Brayan Bello, and with a number of options behind that group — including Johan Oviedo, Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval, Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, and Kyle Harrison, as well as prospects such as Jake Bennett and Kyson Witherspoon who could join that mix this year — the Sox have the starting pitching foundation to compete every night.
But that doesn’t mean the team’s work is done. The Sox remain active in upgrading their positional group, though the addition of Suárez — and departure of Bregman — does change the operating parameters of those efforts.
The perfect fit likely isn’t available
The appeal of Bregman was his multidimensional impact as a strong hitter who doesn’t strike out, gets on base at a strong rate, taps into pull-side power, plays excellent defense, and offers clubhouse leadership.
That’s a combination the Red Sox are unlikely to replicate in their infield, particularly given that they’ve now pushed their payroll to its highest level in franchise history — a projected $265 million to $270 million for luxury-tax purposes.
In theory, Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte could make a fascinating fit given that, like Bregman, he has a demonstrated ability to upgrade a team’s offense and defense, and because he’s signed to a long-term deal that would come as a relative bargain of $15 million per year for luxury-tax purposes.
However, after fielding offers on Marte over the past two months — including from the Red Sox — Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said days before Bregman’s decision that he was no longer entertaining trade discussions about his star second baseman. While there’s been speculation the Sox could circle back and sweeten their offer now that they’ve whiffed on Bregman, one major league source familiar with Arizona’s stance characterized the door to a trade as “firmly shut.”
Power or defense?
Earlier in the offseason, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow made no secret of his desire to add a true power hitter to the lineup.
“Home runs are a foolproof way to put runs on the board,” he said at the Winter Meetings in December.
Ideally, of course, the Sox would have loved to add a player with the ability to clear the fences and solidify the infield defense at second or third (with Marcelo Mayer capable of delivering excellent defense at either position). But the remaining options are likely imperfect.
So, how do the Sox balance the power vs. defense question? With the addition of first baseman Willson Contreras — whose power numbers could benefit significantly from his relocation from St. Louis to Boston — the Sox have a player who projects to offset the thump lost by Bregman’s departure.
The addition of Suárez likely elevates the importance of infield defense for a rotation that should rely heavily on turning grounders into outs. Last year, Bello (50 percent ground-ball rate, 12th-highest among big leaguers who threw at least 120 innings), Crochet (48 percent, 16th), and Suárez (47 percent, 19th) posted some of the highest ground-ball rates of big league starting pitchers. The importance of an infield that can reliably turn ground balls into outs behind that group is immense.
That fact, in turn, might lead the Red Sox to place greater emphasis on strong defense (relative to power) than had been the case previously — which could impact the potential fit of sluggers Eugenio Suárez (a free agent who blasted 49 homers in 2025, but graded by Statcast as six outs worse than an average third baseman) or Isaac Paredes (an Astros trade candidate with obvious Fenway appeal given his righthanded pull power, but three outs below an average third baseman in 2025).
Meanwhile, one of the best defensive infielders in baseball — Nico Hoerner of the Cubs — may now be available via trade as a result of Bregman signing. The Cubs have Bregman to play third, Matt Shaw capable of playing second, and Hoerner — a two-time Gold Glove second baseman. But would the Sox give up significant assets to acquire a player who remains under team control for just one more year?
The Red Sox do still have a clear preference for adding a righthanded hitter to balance out their lineup options, suggesting that if they prioritize defense, an option such as Hoerner (a righthanded hitter with a career .314/.357/.431 line against southpaws) would likely be elevated above a lefthanded-hitting infielder such as Brendan Donovan of the Cardinals.
But the Sox don’t simply get to click a couple of checkboxes to filter options for the perfect infielder. They’re in search of the best fit via trade or free agency, since there’s not a turnkey option.
Speaking of trades …
The Red Sox entered the offseason boasting solid rotation depth. With the additions of Suárez, Gray, and Oviedo, they’ve got more options than spots. Given that Bello is signed through 2029, Suárez will be signed through 2030, and Crochet is under contract through 2031 — with Tolle and Early at least six full years away from free agency, there’s a startling amount of long-term pitching depth.
Aside from Crochet, Suárez, and Gray, it’s not hard to imagine the Sox making any of their other starters — even including Bello, Tolle, and Early, not to mention Crawford, Oviedo, Harrison, and more — available. Between the ability to move big league-ready starting pitchers and/or an outfielder, the Sox have the freedom to keep reshaping their roster.
All of this is far more complicated than it would have been simply to re-sign Bregman. But while the Sox were deeply pained by their inability to bring back the third baseman, they’ve moved forward — and have options to round out an extensive offseason roster overhaul guided by a desire to build on last year’s return to the postseason.
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.