After losing out on Alex Bregman and trading Rafael Devers, the Boston Red Sox are left with a gaping hole in their infield. Bo Bichette is one of the few free agents who could fix it, but he's asking for a long-term deal and $300 million — it doesn't take a genius to know the Red Sox will never commit to that.
Boston's other options are, admittedly, not that great (subscription required). Former Sox prospect Yoán Moncada is a free agent, but that reunion would just make fans more upset (not that that seems to influence any of the front office's decisions). One free agent slugger could be a short-term path to explosive offense, and at this rate, the Red Sox should take it.
Third baseman Eugenio Suárez is still available, and he could be just the boost Boston needs to remain competitive in the American League East this season. It wouldn't take a long-term deal to bring him to the Red Sox, considering he's entering his age-35 season, and the power in his bat could make any risk associated with signing him worth it.
Losing out on Bregman is an utter disaster because the Red Sox traded Rafael Devers away, but also because they made a couple of "win-now" moves earlier this offseason that weren't backed up by their effort to bring Bregman in again. Sonny Gray is 36 years old and only has one year remaining on his contract and Willson Contreras is 34 with two years remaining. Their respective impacts in Boston will be short, and it may as well sign Suárez to go along with them.
Red Sox should sign Eugenio Suárez to make up for losing Alex Bregman and to compliment their other 'win-now' moves
Suárez is a poor defender, but the Red Sox forfeited their chance to sign a good one when they didn't take their pursuit of Bregman seriously. Now, what they really need is a shock to the offense, and Suárez could provide just that.
Suárez slashed .228/.298/.526 with an .824 OPS over 159 games between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners last season. His slash line doesn't jump off the page, but his offense severely decreased after his deadline trade to Seattle, which is one of the least hitter-friendly ballparks in MLB — his OPS+ dropped from 142 to 94 after the deal. Still, Suárez managed 28 doubles, 49 home runs and 118 RBI on the season and he earned his second All-Star nomination.
Suárez won't make Boston's offense more consistent as he struck out 196 times last season and only carried a 34th percentile walk rate. But the front office noted that adding power was one of its biggest priorities this winter, and Suárez can answer that call.
Like trading for Gray and Contreras, singing Suárez would be a win-now move, and the Red Sox should pull the trigger before another team does. If they keep squandering their top free agent options like they did with Bregman (and history suggests they will), their contending window will slam closed in their face before they know it. Signing Suárez is a short-term way to meet Boston's needs while it searches for an ideal third base candidate on future free agent markets or in a trade.