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As Red Sox look to add to roster and infield, one area is ‘really important’
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- As Red Sox look to add to roster and infield, one area is ‘really important’
BOSTON — The Red Sox introduced lefty starter Ranger Suárez at a press conference here at Fenway Park on Wednesday, making official his five-year, $130 million contract .
With Suárez in the mix, the Red Sox have 14 starting pitchers on their 40-man roster , including Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo who were acquired via trades this offseason.
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“I don’t think there’s a question anymore that the identity of our team, the strength of our team is going to be our pitching and our ability to prevent runs,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said.
Much more goes into run prevention than strong pitching. Defense is incredibly important. The Red Sox are still trying to add a third baseman or second baseman via trade or free agency. An infielder who plays plus defense should be a priority considering the rotation they have assembled.
“Defense is a significant contributor to run prevention,” Breslow said. “We tend to get caught up in the pitching side of this but there are other key components as well. Defense being the most obvious. And so it’s really important that we improve our defense, particularly our infield defense. I would argue we have the best defensive outfield in baseball, but we led the league in errors last year and our out-conversion needs to be improved. I think there are some things that we’ve already started to do internally to reprioritize that but also any additions that we may make, we’ll be very mindful of the defensive skill set.”
Third baseman Eugenio Suárez , who hit 49 home runs combined for the Diamondbacks and Mariners last year, remains available in free agency. He would give the Red Sox the right-handed power bat that they need. But Suárez finished with minus-six defensive runs saved in 1,347 ⅔ innings at third base last year.
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The Red Sox have expressed interest in Houston Astros third baseman/first baseman Isaac Paredes . In his career, Paredes has made 399 starts at third base, 53 starts at second base, 40 starts at first base and five starts at shortstop. His range and arm strength at third base are below average. He had minus-4 defensive runs saved in 766 ⅔ innings at third base in 2025 and has regressed there defensively each of the past three seasons.
Other potential trade options include Mets ’ Brett Baty and Mark Vientos , Cubs’ Nico Hoerner and Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan .
Hoerner, a right-handed batter who hits for a high average, had 17 defensive runs saved in 1,326 innings while winning a Gold Glove at second base last year.
Baty, a left-handed hitter with some power, had four defensive runs saved in 573 innings at third base and three defensive runs saved in 373 innings at second base last year.
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Vientos, a right-handed hitter with power, had negative-10 defensive runs saved in 556 innings at third base last year.
Donovan, a left-handed hitter, had minus-2 defensive runs saved in 809 innings at second base last year.
“What we are constantly balancing is what is the most impactful piece or pieces and also how do we ensure we have enough depth that if guys were to get injured, which unfortunately had happened a couple times over the last two years, that we’re not taking a massive step backwards,” Breslow said.
Red Sox 23-year-old Marcelo Mayer has the ability to provide plus defense at either second or third base, depending on how the roster shapes out. Breslow, however, has not locked him into starting at one of those two open infield spots.
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“I’m reluctant to kind of commit to things at this point outside of saying that we know Marcelo is going to play a very important role for us,” Breslow said. “His defensive skills and also versatility are going to be really, really useful for us. ... And he’s still acclimating to the big leagues and he’s having a productive offseason — bigger, stronger, moving really well. So I think those types of questions will get answered as we get into spring training and see what comes together. But in some capacity, he’s going to be a big contributor to our success."
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