The offseason is going to be extra painful for the Boston Red Sox this year, both because of what came before it and what’s coming soon.
After being swept out of the playoffs in just two games by the arch-rival New York Yankees, the Red Sox could have a long time to sit with their failure. An impending Major League Baseball work stoppage threatens to cancel games during the 2027 regular season.
For now, we’ll act like free agency and trades this winter will still matter, even if they have fewer games to play next year than usual. And if that’s the case, the Red Sox can’t afford to sit on their hands, so we found them some potential upgrades.
Seiya Suzuki – RF/DH, Chicago Cubs
The Red Sox’s clearest flaw was their lack of thump, but there are very, very few impact power bats available this winter. Suzuki, who enters his age-32 season next year, has a 128 career OPS+ in five years with the Cubs, and this past season was his best showing yet.
Though he’s not a lock for 30 home runs (only did it last season out of his five years in Chicago), Suzuki topped five bWAR for the first time this year and could take a leap in the power category at Fenway Park, similarly to Willson Contreras this past season.
Yandy DÃaz – 1B/DH, Tampa Bay Rays
Similarly to Suzuki, DÃaz profiles more as a really good hitter than one with game-changing power. But it’s also easy to picture the career .293 hitter raising his power ceiling at Fenway Park. He’s never hit 30-plus home runs in the big leagues, but has 22 or more in three of the last four years.
In Boston, DÃaz would likely fill the designated hitter slot on four days out of five, which means they’d be creating problems elsewhere on the roster to resolve one of the big issues. Far from a perfect fix, but it’s not like the Red Sox can take Junior Caminero away from the Rays instead.
Re-sign Sonny Gray OR bring in Michael King
It’s pretty clear that the Red Sox needed a commanding veteran presence in the rotation this season, which Gray provided. The rotation outside of Gray was also dominated by lefties, making his righty presence all the more valuable.
Gray has hinted at retirement, but even if he comes back, there’s a possibility that the Red Sox are moved instead to pursue King, who is coming off a career-high 185 innings in the regular season and is five years younger. Either way, they need that extra top-of-the-rotation arm.
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