The Boston Red Sox are still shopping around to finish their roster for the 2026 season. After Alex Bregman's departure to the Chicago Cubs, a right-handed-hitting infielder is high on their wish list.
What was once an abundant group of players has been whittled down to almost nothing in the final weeks of the offseason (subscription required). Bregman, Bo Bichette, Ketel Marte and Isaac Paredes were all infield options for Boston at one point or another, but Bichette signed an expensive deal with the New York Mets, the Arizona Diamondbacks said they're no longer willing to trade Marte, and a deal for Paredes with the Houston Astros seems to be dragging. The Cubs will probably ride out the rest of Nico Hoerner's contract as well.
Right-handed-hitting trade candidates have been insanely hard to come by so far and Bleacher Report believes that will continue into the season and to the trade deadline. Among his "way-too-early" predictions for the 2026 trade deadline, writer Tim Kelly asserts that impact righty bats will be few and far between on the trade market.
The Red Sox's front office is already well acquainted with this issue. Boston has been connected to nearly all of the best righty hitters on the trade market but hasn't been able to pull off a deal, whether that be because teams are determined to hold onto their righties or because the Sox have refused to meet asking prices (both of which are very possible).
Bleacher Report predicts 2026 trade deadline market will be thin on righty bats, which Red Sox already know well
Righty bats the Red Sox are targeting, in particular, will be exceedingly hard to get at the deadline. Boston hoped to sign a right-handed hitter who's also a capable defender, but prices on the free agent market and asking prices on the trade market have been exorbitant. A well-rounded righty impact bat could be the ultimate commodity in trades this year.
Kelly theorizes that Yandy Díaz or Alec Bohm could be moved at the deadline since the Rays could be sellers in the American League East, which has improved so much this winter, and the Phillies have an infield logjam. There have been rumors around both players for some time and the asking prices for them could only increase since impact righties will be such a rarity on the market this coming season.
The Red Sox's current struggles to trade for a righty bat suggest they should take the best option they can now before the options become even more scarce. Boston needs another bat to field a better team than it did last year — unfortunately, there are no more perfect fits available, but that's what it needs to settle for.