Red Sox 'High' On Projected $161 Million Phillies All-Star

If you look at the Boston Red Sox's offseason from the perspective of what they have added, it's not been bad.

Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, and Johan Oviedo were all good pickups by the front office. But the club's high-profile miss with Alex Bregman has soured the offseason as a whole. Other teams in the division have shown a willingness to be aggressive that Boston hasn't met. The Baltimore Orioles specifically beat the Red Sox in the market for Pete Alonso. The Toronto Blue Jays -- who were just a few outs away from winning the World Series this past fall -- signed Dylan Cease to a $210 million deal and now are in the mix for Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette.

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Gray, Contreras, and Oviedo are good additions. If Bregman were back in town, this club would be viewed as one of the top overall contenders in the sport. But with Bregman leaving for the Chicago Cubs, the front office has a bit more work to do to get to that level of contender. On Wednesday, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal dropped an intriguing nugget while discussing Boston and not only talked about the idea of adding another pitcher -- which has been out there since losing Bregman -- but noted that the club is "high" on former Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Ranger Suárez.

Boston needs to get some sort of deal done

"Another possibility for the Red Sox, according to people briefed on their thinking, is to continue loading up on pitching," Rosenthal wrote. "The Sox have been one of the teams talking to the Milwaukee Brewers about right-hander Freddy Peralta, who is entering his walk year. Some in the organization also are high on free-agent left-hander Ranger Suárez, whose market remains unclear. The Sox also met in person with free-agent lefty Framber Valdez in November before trading for Sonny Gray."

Suárez would be an intriguing addition. He's a lefty and had a 3.20 in 26 starts in 2025 and 4.7 wins above replacement in 157 1/3 innings pitched. Until the Red Sox show otherwise, it's important to note his age and projected price. Suárez is 30 years old and is projected to land a six-year, $161 million deal by Spotrac.

Boston notably has avoided long-term, lucrative deals with players 30 years old or older over the last few years. The club did offer Bregman a five-year, $165 million deal, but heavy "significant deferrals" were a part of the reason why the deal didn't get over the finish line.

Now, with Bregman off the board could the organization surprise and strike elsewhere? Absolutely they could. They have the money for it after trading Rafael Devers and losing Bregman. But this doesn't seem very likely if Spotrac's projection is on the money.

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