{"id":113336,"date":"2026-02-03T15:24:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T20:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=113336"},"modified":"2026-02-03T15:24:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T20:24:20","slug":"a-possible-trade-piece-could-fix-bostons-second-base-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/02\/03\/a-possible-trade-piece-could-fix-bostons-second-base-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"A Possible Trade Piece Could Fix Boston\u2019s Second Base Issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Boston Red Sox have had an offseason that has produced mixed results among the fanbase, particularly in pitching and the infield. The major thing to address this offseason was pitching, especially with Lucas Giolito<\/a> becoming a free agent, uncertainty about Brayan Bello<\/a> being a number 2 starter, and the young guys not being fully ready to claim a big role just yet. So the front office decided to make some moves, acquiring Sonny Gray<\/a> in a trade and signing Phillies star Ranger Su\u00e1rez <\/a><\/span>to further improve depth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the other major issue was needing a power bat. Trading franchise star Rafael Devers<\/a> midseason removed the home run hitter from the Red Sox\u2019s lineup, leaving a major void. The Red Sox proceeded to leave an average of 6.95 runners stranded on base per game, <\/span>ninth worst in baseball<\/span><\/a> during the 2025 season. With no power hitters to drive them in, it was a major issue. And things just got worse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On January 14th, 2026, third baseman Alex Bregman<\/a> left the team to sign with the Chicago Cubs. With second base being a toss-up on who to start, Bregman’s leaving caused another hole in the infield. In the short-term or long-term run, they could start former shortstop Marcelo Mayer<\/a> at third. This would create a left side of Trevor Story<\/a> and Mayer. On the right side, the Red Sox traded for Willson Contreras<\/a> to play first. Contreras could platoon with Triston Casas<\/a> or become the full-time first baseman. However, the second base position is still up in the air. Craig Breslow has stated that Romy Gonzalez<\/a> and David Hamilton<\/a> splitting time could work. There have been rumors about trading with the Cubs for an infielder. Although there\u2019s a third trade option that\u2019s going under the radar currently in Washington’s CJ Abrams<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why CJ Abrams for Second Base?<\/h2>\n

The Red Sox have made it clear this offseason that they\u2019re not super in on any of the power hitters available. They missed out on Kyle Schwarber<\/a> and Pete Alonso<\/a> during the Winter Meetings and then watched Eugenio Su\u00e1rez<\/a>\u00a0sign with the Reds. These three players hit 56, 38, and 49 homers, respectively. While having a power hitter would be nice, all three of those guys had strikeout percentages well over 20% this past season:<\/span><\/p>\n

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