The Red Sox also have three other free agents that didn’t make the top-50 list: Kinsler, Pearce, and Phillips.
With Dustin Pedroia‘s future still uncertain, they could look into re-signing either Kinsler or Phillips on a short-term deal due to their ages. Kinsler’s offense can be brutally bad at times, but he did just win a Gold Glove. Phillips only played in nine games for the Major League ball club this year. Other than one big home run, he didn’t do anything to show that he can play second base regularly in the Majors.
Another possible option for second base could be Jed Lowrie. MLBTR is predicting him to stay with Oakland for three years, $30MM. First of all, he may not be worth quite that much. And second, the Red Sox could very easily swoop in and sign the 34-year-old. He’s played two full seasons in a row for the first time in his career and has produced good offensive numbers in both while playing very good defense.
Finally, Steve Pearce is an interesting candidate to return on a short-term deal. He’ll be 36 in April, but the lifetime Red Sox fan proved he has a knack for clutch situations during the regular season, and especially during the playoffs. He could return as a first base platoon option because of Mitch Moreland‘s ever-questionable health.
The Red Sox have a lot of interesting choices ahead of them this offseason. Fortunately, in all of their areas of need, there are plenty of options available. Look for Dave Dombrowski to do whatever is needed to get the team back to the World Series in 2019.