Despite a rough start to the season, the Red Sox are currently in the process of turning it around. They’ve won four of their last five; their rotation is starting to show its worth fully; everything’s going up. Most notably after Sunday’s game, the offense seems to be coming alive. In the last two games, they’ve scored 16 runs. Willson Contreras, in particular, is having a really good stretch, batting .421 in the last five games. With all this success, however, there’s one glaring problem.
Three Realistic Names To Add to Red Sox Amid Power Struggles
Going into the offseason, after trading Rafael Devers, one of the biggest questions was about where the power in the offense was going to come from. Who is going to be the player to hit home runs when Boston needs one? And right now, it’s still very much up in the air. Contreras hit one Sunday against the Cardinals. Before that, the last homer was last Monday, also coming from the first baseman. The last non-Contreras home run for the Red Sox came off the bat of Marcelo Mayer on April 3rd against the Padres.
The current team has hit 9 home runs, tied for the second-worst in MLB. Contreras has three. Wilyer Abreu also sits at three after his hot start. That means the rest of the team combined has the other three. No one else has more than one. The Sox are in desperate need of a power bat. Here are some realistic names they could look at to improve*.
*= Given the current state of the outfield, names are limited to infield/DH positions.
Three Names The Red Sox Could Acquire For Power
Wilmer Flores
Wilmer Flores is a tricky answer because one, he’s mainly a first baseman, and two, he will be playing in the Mexican league. For him to come, his current team would need to release him, and the Red Sox would have to pay a fee. But he’s actually played all over the infield (except shortstop) and at designated hitter. While the numbers aren’t eye-popping, he hit 16 homers last year for the San Francisco Giants, as well as 23 in 2023. Last year, he had a 3.5% home run rate and a slightly below-average 85.9 exit velocity. He signed with the Toros de Tijuana on March 19th. With the LMB season starting this Thursday, it would be a while till the Red Sox could grab him. But he’s still got enough to show that he could be useful to the team.
Mark Vientos
Mark Vientos is an interesting option, as he had a breakout season in 2024. Hitting 27 homers and putting up an .837 OPS, he was seen as one of the Mets’ future stars. He backed it up in the postseason, hitting .327 with five home runs as the Mets made it to the NLCS. However, coming off that, he would regress, hitting 17 homers.
The current situation with the Mets’ infield is exactly why going after him would even be an option. The Mets signed Bo Bichette this offseason, after already having Brett Baty handle third last season. Baty moved to first. Newcomer Jorge Polanco also filled the DH spot, leaving Vientos in a tricky spot. The 26-year-old is currently the backup first baseman at best on the depth chart. While he does get starts, just like the Red Sox outfield, it’s a lot of guys to move around. He’s still on his rookie contract, so it wouldn’t cost much to get him.
In addition, first baseman Triston Casas, who’s been seen as an underwhelming prospect here, has been linked to the Mets in mock trades. Given that his injury rehab is taking longer than expected, there is speculation that he could be dealt soon. Therefore, Vientos could be a viable option for Boston. He hits lefties well, so he could fill a spot against them or even play third if Caleb Durbin’s struggles continue.
Randy Arozarena
This one may seem like a reach on paper, but it makes more sense than one would think from Boston’s side. Despite potentially being another outfielder for Boston to figure out, he actually has a -3.6 defensive WAR for his career (-0.6 in 2025). So he could be moved to the DH spot. Arozarena is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he made his second All-Star Game of his career. During the season, he hit 27 homers, stole 31 bases, and walked 64 times for a Seattle Mariners squad that fell just short of making their first-ever World Series. So not only can he hit homers (3.8 HR% last year), but he’s a 30-30 threat as well.
This season, he has only one homer, but like the Red Sox, the Mariners are having a slow start. As far as money is concerned, he is in the last year of his contract, and the upcoming free agent class is more pitcher-heavy than hitter-filled. So if the Red Sox did end up getting him, they would have to try to make a push to keep him. Given his status, however, the return package would be more than Vientos, and the uncertainty of doing that for possibly a one-year rental is real. But if they can find a way to lock him up, should they acquire him, this could turn out good.
Now it might be too soon even to be thinking about this. It’s only early April, so the lineup could snap out of it and break out. After all, there’s a slim chance some players could go off this year. But in case this struggle continues, it’s not out of the question to look at some bigger bats to fix this issue.
Main Photo Credits: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
