Why this under the radar trade candidate fits as Alex Bregman's replacement on the Red Sox

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Why this under the radar trade candidate fits as Alex Bregman's replacement on the Red Sox originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Boston Red Sox nation is in a bit of disarray following the departure of Alex Bregman to the northside of Chicago. On multiple occasions now, the Red Sox front office has given fans just enough reason to have some hope that they might land a top free agent just to see said player walk to another organization.

It’s been a rough go for Craig Breslow and company, but alas, there is still in fact some time to turn this ship around. However, time is of the essence as the rest of the American League East has improved while the Red Sox are largely running out the same roster that came up short in the wild card round last October to the New York Yankees.

The good news is the Red Sox still have plenty of resources to trade and one player in particular that can help replace the production they’ll be missing with Alex Bregman is catching some steam as a potential trade candidate. Here’s why Isaac Paredes could be the next third baseman for the Boston Red Sox.

Isaac Paredes could be a great fit in Boston's lineup

For starters, the Red Sox are in need of a third baseman and Isaac Paredes does just that. He does a little more as well with the ability to handle first base pretty well and can slide over to second base in a pinch. He of course can DH too and given the Red Sox could very possibly move an outfield bat before the end of the offseason (or in a trade for Paredes), the path to getting Paredes plate appearances as a DH would become easier.

Marcelo Mayer is slated to be the opening day third baseman at the moment, which would likely pan out better for Boston defensively, but Paredes has the more polished and productive bat at this point in their respective careers. As a versatile defender himself, a deal to acquire Paredes shouldn’t put Mayer’s playing time at risk, especially when the inevitable injury bug rolls through Boston.

Offensively, Paredes and Fenway Park could be a match made in heaven. The reason Alex Bregman had so much success hitting in Boston was due to his high-contact and pull-heavy approach. Paredes carries a very similar offensive profile and has really made a living through pulling fly balls and turning them into home runs despite his sub-par contact quality metrics. The green monster presents itself as the shortest left field in baseball, and when the ball isn’t flying over the green monster off of Paredes’s bat, a lot of those fly balls are bouncing off the monster for extra bases.

Paredes has appeared in just 16 games at Fenway Park in his career, all as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays between 2022 and 2024. Across 65 plate appearances, he has three home runs and a 130 wRC+. A small sample, but promising nonetheless.

Since his first full season in 2022, Paredes has hit 90 home runs with a .239/.341/.442 slashline and a 124 wRC+ across time with the Rays, Cubs, and Astros. It isn’t numbers that jump off the page, but you can count on him to produce at an above-average level on a yearly basis. A big part of his game is his ability to draw a lot of walks and limit strikeouts which holds value in any lineup regardless of the power numbers. In each of his last four seasons, he has posted at least a 10% walk rate while striking out less than 20% of the time.

The Red Sox have the resources to get a deal done for Isaac Paredes

Paredes has two more years of control remaining before he hits free agency and has already been traded twice since he broke out with the Rays, so there’s already a market that can be expected for him. In 2024, he was traded from the Rays to the Cubs for Christopher Morel along with pitching prospects Hunter Bigge and Ty Johnson.

When he was traded from the Cubs to the Astros last offseason, he was included alongside prospects Cam Smith and Hayden Wesneski in the blockbuster deal that sent Kyle Tucker to the Cubs. With two years of control remaining and coming off of a pretty standard Isaac Paredes season (that featured some time on the IL), the asking price shouldn’t be too high for the Red Sox.

Paredes could be someone the Astros are looking to move with Carlos Correa transitioning to third base full time. The Astros are also in need of some upgrades in their outfield so it almost makes too much sense to include Paredes in a deal that sends a Red Sox outfielder down to Houston.

If Craig Breslow wants to get back in good graces with Red Sox fans before it’s too late, this could be a deal that moves the needle back in the right direction.

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