Red Sox Insider Pours Cold Water on Eugenio Suárez, Isaac Paredes in Boston

The Boston Red Sox are missing one final puzzle piece to complete this offseason, but it's never been harder to figure out who fills in the gap.

Obviously, Boston needs one more infielder. But with Alex Bregman lost to free agency and the Arizona Diamondbacks publicly declaring they won't trade Ketel Marte, the options on the table all lack something the Red Sox are missing.

Case in point: the Red Sox need power, and the two power candidates are free agent Eugenio Suárez and Houston Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes. But Boston needs such a complete player that those veterans' questionable gloves might not play in the eyes of chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Red Sox not a match for Suárez, Paredes?

Jun 5, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes (15) hits a two run home run for his second home run of the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Anyone hoping Boston might say "forget defense" got a negative outlook from insider Ian Browne of MLB.com on Monday. In a recent "ask me anything" session on Reddit, Browne shot down the idea of Boston grabbing either Suárez or Paredes.

"The way Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was talking the other day about leaning into run prevention in light of losing Alex Bregman, I have a hard time seeing them add Suárez or Paredes," Browne wrote in response to a question about picking up one of the two sluggers.

"Let's face it -- neither of those players is known for their glove. I think third base is a better fit for (Marcelo) Mayer than second, so it wouldn't surprise me to see them get a second baseman."

The uncomfortable truth right now is that the Red Sox won't get someone who checks every box. The main alternatives to Suárez and Paredes are Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner (will cost a lot in a trade, not much power, free agency in a year) or St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (left-handed, also not a ton of power).

Suárez and Paredes are far from perfect players. But both could make a Red Sox team that hit the 23rd-most home runs in the majors after trading away Rafael Devers better.

More MLB: Red Sox's Kutter Crawford Has Ambitious Goal Amid Rotation Competition