The Boston Red Sox were seemingly targeting Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber to fill out their lineup this offseason, but they missed out on both sluggers at the winter meetings. Now they’re bound to turn their attention to other stars.
The Red Sox need to add an infielder, given the fact that Alex Bregman sits in free agency. There’s a chance the Red Sox could re-sign Bregman, but they could also dive into the trade market to add a star.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently predicted the Red Sox would swing an offseason trade for Arizona Diamondbacks star infielder Ketel Marte.
“The Diamondbacks came to the winter meetings believing Marte would stay with them,” Nightengale wrote. “They left town believing he will be traded. Prediction:Â Marte is traded to the Boston Red Sox, but the Detroit Tigers and, yes, the Cincinnati Reds are possibilities.”
Marte is one of the best infielders in all of baseball right now. The Red Sox would benefit greatly from adding him at second base while Marcelo Mayer slides over to third base.
The Red Sox have the prospects it would take to acquire Marte, too. They could center a deal around Jarren Duran and one or two top pitching prospects. Boston has multiple big league-ready pitching prospects who could be moved in a deal like this.
With how much the rest of the American League East is improving, the Red Sox need to make a move like this to keep up.
More MLB: MLB Offseason Tracker: Orioles Make Splash By Signing Pete Alonso