There is roughly a month to go until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training and it would be a really big surprise if the Boston Red Sox didn’t land some sort of right-handed piece for the middle of the lineup.
Even though there isn’t a lot of time left until Spring Training gets here, there are still a few suitable options remaining in free agency or even the trade market. Boston has been tied to players recently like Alex Bregman, Nolan Arenado, and outfielder Randal Grichuk.
A move hasn’t happened yet, so nothing really can be ruled out. NBC Sports Boston’s Justin Leger made another intriguing suggestion and floated New York Mets All-Star Pete Alonso as a free agent fit.
“OK, it’s admittedly a stretch to throw Alonso in the ‘best fits’ category, but the longtime Mets first baseman is the biggest right-handed bat left on the market and has recently been linked to the Red Sox,” Leger said. “Boston would either have to make him its DH and part ways with Masataka Yoshida or make him their new first baseman after trading Triston Casas.”
At this point, anyone the Red Sox could bring in would have some sort of question mark. Bregman would likely move to second base, Arenado’s defensive spot certainly would be up in the air, and there’s a log jam in the outfield already with prospects coming up so Grichuk would be tough to work in.
There would be question marks with Alonso as well, but it’s a good suggestion because his bat would play perfectly at Fenway Park. He’s a four-time All-Star whose 162-game averages are 43 home runs and 112 RBIs. His market value is projected to be $174 million over six years by Spotrac but at this point in the offseason ,it seems much more likely that he will get a shorter term deal than that.
Maybe there’s a way to keep Rafael Devers and Triston Casas in the middle of the lineup while also adding Alonso. It certainly is a fun idea at the very least.
