7 middle infield options for the Red Sox to replace Xander Bogaerts
There are a few intriguing possibilities.
The Red Sox lost their longest-tenured player earlier this week and have no clear option to replace him.
Xander Bogaerts, who spent 10 seasons in Boston after getting called up in 2010, signed an 11-year deal with the San Diego Padres that’s reportedly worth $280 million.
While losing the player considered to be the “heart” of the team, what hurts nearly as much for the Red Sox is that they’ve got no clear replacement for him entering the 2023 season. Sure, Trevor Story could possibly move from second base to back to his natural position at shortstop, but that would create another hole for the Red Sox.
So, with that in mind, here are seven middle infield options for the Red Sox to replace Bogaerts.
Carlos Correa
The free-agent shortstop is probably the “sexiest” name of the group. He’ll likely also be the most expensive of the group.
Correa is a free agent for the second straight offseason after opting out of the final two seasons of his three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Twins.
The 28-year-old has been one of the game’s best shortstops in recent seasons. Last season, he hit .291/.366/.467 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs in 136 games with the Twins. In the season prior, Correa hit .279/.366/.485 with 26 homers and 92 RBIs with the Astros en route to finishing fifth in the AL MVP voting that year.
Not only has Correa been able to get it done at the plate for much of his career, he’s also been one of the game’s best defensive shortstops. He had the third-best outs above average from 2018-21 (+49 OAA) but struggled in 2022, posting a -3 OAA.
Most experts predicted that Correa would get a contract worth roughly $30 million per year with a duration between six-to-10 years prior to the start of the offseason. That was before Bogaerts and Trea Turner signed the surprisingly massive deals they got, with Bogaerts getting $280 million over 11 years from the Padres and Turner getting $300 million over 11 years from the Phillies. Correa is a couple years younger than both of those players and is widely regarded as the better player, so it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if he got a richer and longer deal than both of them.
The Red Sox “shouldn’t be ruled out” of the Correa sweepstakes following Bogaerts’s departure, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, who cites Correa’s relationship with Alex Cora as a potential factor that could bring him to Boston.
Dansby Swanson
The potentially former Brave rounds out the “big four” shortstops that hit free agency this offseason.
Swanson had a career year in 2022, hitting .277/.329/.447 with 25 home runs and 96 RBIs and played in all 162 regular-season games to help earn him his first All-Star nod.
However, the 2022 season is a bit of an outlier for the soon-to-be 29-year-old. He’s hit .255/.321/.417 with 20 home runs and 81 RBIs over a 162-game average in his seven-year career. Swanson does have some postseason pedigree to his name though, hitting two home runs in the 2021 World Series to help the Braves win over the Astros.
Entering the offseason, most experts projected Swanson’s next contract would be worth around $25 million annually for five-to-seven years. Of course, the contracts Bogaerts and Turner received could very well change that.
The Red Sox are among four teams that have shown the most interest so far in Swanson, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reported.
Jose Iglesias
Could the former Red Sox shortstop find his way back to Boston for a third time?
Well, if the Red Sox don’t want to make long-term investments on either Correa or Swanson as they wait for Marcelo Mayer to reach the majors, Iglesias could be the best short-term option.
Iglesias, who turns 33 in January, posted a good batting average with the Rockies in 2022 (.292) though his bat didn’t have pop. He had a .708 OPS with only three home runs and 47 RBIs in 118 games.
Iglesias’s solid 2022 season came after he returned to Boston for the final month of the 2021 regular season, where he provided enough of a part at second base for the Red Sox to help them reach the playoffs. He hit .356/.406/.508 with a home run and seven RBIs over 23 games with the Red Sox.
Signing Iglesias likely wouldn’t cost much as he’s signed just one-year deals that were worth no more than $5 million in each of the previous four offseason. However, the Red Sox might feel more inclined to try to find a bat with more power than Iglesias’s to help fill the void of Bogaerts.
Jean Segura
If the Red Sox decide to move Story to shortstop, they’ll have a few free-agent options to replace their 2022 second baseman though none seem as compelling as the top remaining shortstop free agents.
Segura could make for a decent option at second base. He’s been a solid hitter for much of his 11-year career, hitting .277/.336/.387 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs in 98 games with the Phillies last season.
Like Iglesias, Segura would likely be a short-term option as he turns 33 in March. He also missed a couple months last season due to a broken finger that he suffered while attempting a bunt.
MLB Trade Rumors projects that Segura will ultimately sign a contract worth $18 million over two years.
Adam Frazier
Frazier is really the only other notable second baseman that’s a free agent this offseason.
The soon-to-be 31-year-old really struggled at the plate with the Mariners this past season after having a career year in 2021. He hit .238/.301/.311 with just three home runs and 42 RBIs in 156 games in 2022. A year prior though, Frazier hit .305/.368/.411 with five homers and 43 RBIs – which is more in-line with his career averages than his 2022 season was.
Frazier could be an enticing buy-low option not only for that reason either. He’s also a versatile player that’s played in left and right field over his seven-year career.
Amed Rosario
With the amount of talent available at the position this offseason, the trade market for a shortstop doesn’t appear to be as robust.
Guardians shortstop Amed Rosario has been the top shortstop that’s been speculated to potentially get traded this offseason.
The 27-year-old, who was viewed as one of the game’s best prospects five years ago, hasn’t lived all the way up to the hype, but Rosario’s certainly been a solid player over his six-year career. Since getting traded to the Guardians prior to the 2021 season, Rosario’s hit .282/.316/.406 with 11 home runs in each of the last two seasons. He also led the American League in triples last season with nine.
Rosario’s set to enter his final season under club control, which means he’ll be a free agent a year from now.
Christian Arroyo
If the Red Sox want to potentially use their resources elsewhere to help either fill out the pitching rotation or fill other needs at catcher or find another power-hitting right-handed-hitter, Arroyo would likely be the best internal candidate to “replace” Bogaerts.
Arroyo likely wouldn’t be replacing Bogaerts directly though as he’d probably play second base, his natural position, while Story moves back to short.
Arroyo’s been a fine hitter at the plate over his three seasons in Boston, hitting .273/.320/.427 with 15 homers and 69 RBIs over 158 games.
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