The Boston Red Sox appear to have a target in mind to replace third baseman Alex Bregman after losing him to the Chicago Cubs in free agency.
According to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome and Ken Rosenthal, the Red Sox were hoping to acquire Houston Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes in a three-team trade that also included the St. Louis Cardinals before talks broke down.
The Astros were hoping to acquire utilityman Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals, but he was ultimately sent to the Seattle Mariners. The Red Sox were also left out in the cold, and in addition to failing to land Paredes, “people familiar with the conversations” told Rome and Rosenthal that “a parallel attempt to acquire Donovan also sputtered.”
Still, the Red Sox haven’t given up on their original target. Rome and Rosenthal noted that “multiple team sources” said Boston “remains one of at least five teams engaged with the Astros about Paredes.” They went on to explain why Houston is more likely to deal him to the Northeast.
“Based on the needs of both teams, Boston remains Houston’s most straightforward trade partner,” Rome and Rosenthal wrote. “The Red Sox have a surplus of left-handed hitting outfielders, any of whom would help to strengthen Houston’s most unsettled position group.”
Right fielder Wilyer Abreu was named as a trade candidate for the Red Sox who would be favored by the Astros. He was a member of Houston’s farm system for six years before being traded to Boston in 2022.
It sounds like the Red Sox and Astros will be on their own to try to figure out a deal after the Cardinals bowed out and sent Donovan elsewhere.