The soft market that allowed the Boston Red Sox to land Alex Bregman last offseason won't exist this go around. The Red Sox could very well end up re-signing the star third baseman, but the competition will be fierce. Should the bidding get out of hand, the Red Sox need to have contingency plans in place.
The 2025-26 free-agent market in general isn't a great one, unfortunately. Still, there are a couple of options the Red Sox could turn to, including an overseas import. Even slimmer are the internal pickings to fill Bregman's shoes, but a couple stand out as potential solutions that will generate varying degrees of excitement.
All of these alternatives come with warts; however, some possess an exciting upside that may do more than just soften the potential loss of Bregman.
4 external targets the Red Sox could turn to should Alex Bregman bolt in free agency
Eugenio Suárez
The clear "second-best" third base option on the market, Eugenio Suárez, presents an interesting contradiction. On one hand, his 49 homers this year show he would be a major upgrade in the power department. On the other, his prolonged, strikeout-fueled slump upon being traded to the Seattle Mariners at the deadline raises some red flags.
In addition to the concerns his second half raised, his defense is a clear step down from Bregman. We've seen Suárez bounce back from struggles before, which ironically coincided with him leaving Seattle the first time. History could repeat itself, and if the Red Sox want star power to replace Bregman, Suárez is the best answer. This wouldn't be the first time Boston was linked to Suárez, either.
Munetaka Murakami
The most exciting Japanese hitter to come over in some time, it seems like a guarantee that Munetaka Murakami will be posted this offseason. A bidding war will surely ensue. While Murakami had previously stated a West Coast destination or landing with the Yankees would be his preference, the Red Sox are seen as a potential fit for the prized slugger.
Murakami turns 26 in February and has a 56-homer season, the most by a Japanese-born hitter, plus a Triple Crown already on his résumé in NPB. One thing to note, power hasn't always directly translated coming over from Japan. Hideki Matsui hit 50 homers in his final season in Japan before arriving stateside with the Yankees, but topped 30 homers just once in his career while posting an average of 17.5 homers per year over his 10-year MLB career.
Murakami's sweet lefty swing is still very tempting, but there's another drawback. While most of his games have come at the hot corner, his defense is very poor, foreshadowing another Rafael Devers-type situation, though hopefully with better communication. Murakami has the biggest ceiling of all the Red Sox options, Bregman included, but as an NPB import, that also comes with a lot of risk.
Kazuma Okamoto
Murakami isn't the only Japanese slugger expected to be posted this offseason. His countryman, Kazuma Okamoto, is set to make history as the first position player ever to be posted by the prestigious Yomiuri Giants.
Okamoto is three-and-a-half years older than the phenom who will draw most of the attention coming out of Japan, but he's been remarkably consistent with six-straight 30-plus homer seasons from 2018 through 2023. He's also produced power more efficiently than Murakami, with just one season recording a strikeout rate higher than 19.5%. Murakami, on the other hand, has posted a K-rate over 28% each of the past three seasons.
Okamoto has primarily been a first baseman, however, he has experience at third too, logging 52 of the 69 games he played in an injury-shortened 2025 at the hot corner. He's regarded as the better defender of the two, but that's still not saying much.
Yoán Moncada
Once the crown jewel of the Red Sox farm system, Yoán Moncada played just eight games in Boston before being shipped out in the deal that brought Chris Sale to town. Now, a decade later, he could be the bargain basement solution at third should Bregman find greener pastures elsewhere.
Part of the reason why Moncada will be so cheap is that he's struggled to stay on the field in recent years. 2025 saw him suit up for just 84 games due to a variety of ailments, while a hip injury limited him to just 12 appearances in 2024. He also struggled to stay on the field in 2023, playing just 92 games, after just 104 the year prior.
Moncada brings with him patience and power, with an 11.1% walk rate and .214 ISO, which translated into a .234/.336/448 slash line in 2025. However, the injuries have taken their toll, and he's no longer a gifted shortstop but rather a hobbled third baseman whose defense fell off in a big way this season.
Moncada wouldn't be a long-term answer, but as a fall-back on a one-year prove-it deal, the Red Sox could do a lot worse. After Bregman, Suárez, and the Japanese stars, the rest of the options, other than Moncada, aren't starting-caliber players.
2 external targets the Red Sox could turn to should Alex Bregman move on in free agency
Marcelo Mayer
It was a frustrating debut for 22-year-old Marcelo Mayer, and one that ended in the worst possible way. A 30.1% strikeout rate was uncharacteristic based on his minor league numbers. A .228/.272/.402 line in 44 games wasn't what the former No. 4 overall pick envisioned his big league debut looking like.
With all that said, Mayer is far and away the best internal option that Boston has, and a poor showing in a relatively small sample doesn't erase the potential he had as a top prospect.
In a way, replacing Bregman with Mayer could be the best possible scenario. Doing so would free up money to attack other needs like the starting rotation while giving Boston a hot corner replacement with the potential to be as good or better than his predecessor.
Of course, betting on a young and unproven player is a big gamble, but if the Red Sox don't roll the dice on these guys, then what was the point in collecting all of them?
Romy Gonzalez
This would be the worst-case scenario for Boston. It also comes with the most moving pieces. Gonzalez had a stellar year in 2025, hitting .305/.343/.483 in 96 games, yet only two of those games came at the hot corner.
The lack of time at third base was partly due to the need at first base in the wake of Triston Casas' injury, but also has to do with the fact that Gonzalez is a much better fit on the right side of the infield. Throughout his career the 29-year-old has logged just 117.2 innings at the position.
On top of that, Gonzalez playing third probably necessitates some other less-than-ideal defensive alignments, such as Ceddanne Rafaela playing second base more often than roaming center, where he is among the game's elite defenders.
This is truly a doomsday option in that, in addition to the defensive concerns, an everyday role for Gonzalez is likely beyond his capabilities as well as outside of Alex Cora's comfort zone. If this were to come to fruition, it would mean that something went terribly wrong this offseason.