Red Sox's Top MLB Free Agency Targets After Bo Bichette to Mets, Kyle Tucker to Dodgers

If the Boston Red Sox are going to make any more major additions to their lineup via free agency, they need to act fast because the list of available position players is drying up quickly.

Bo Bichette, who was reportedly a Red Sox target, is off the board after agreeing to a three-year, $126 million contract with the New York Mets on Friday. The deal came together soon after Kyle Tucker accepted a four-year, $240 million contract from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Using MLB Trade Rumors' top 50 free agents list, Cody Bellinger and Eugenio Suárez are the only position players in the top 20 still available.

Bellinger is by far the better player of the two, but his price will likely be more than the Red Sox want to spend after they just gave Ranger Suárez a five-year, $130 million deal to upgrade their already-strong rotation.

The only other available players on the list are Harrison Bader, Luis Arraez, Willi Castro, J.T. Realmuto and Victor Caratini.

Another reason that Bellinger seems unlikely to end up in Boston is because the Red Sox wouldn't budge on certain aspects of their offer to Alex Bregman, whom they had an established relationship with after he played for them in 2025.

Per Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive.com, the Red Sox final offer to Bregman was five years and $165 million with "significant" deferrals. Those financial terms are similar to what Bregman got from the Chicago Cubs, but the key difference was Chicago was willing to give him a full no-trade clause that Boston wasn't.

There has also been nothing connecting Bellinger to the Red Sox this offseason, though the Mets just proved in their agreement with Bichette that things can change in a hurry.

After the Red Sox signed Ranger Suárez, The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey reported the front office was focused on adding bats and were "likely" to trade from their surplus of starting pitchers to do so.

That could easily bear more fruit than trying to go with any of the remaining free agents. Players like Nico Hoerner and Brendan Donovan, two players with positional versatility, have been mentioned as potential trade candidates.

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Eugenio Suárez would fill a need for the Red Sox, who don't have a locked in starter at third base right now. Marcelo Mayer is penciled in as the starter, but he has a lot to prove after hitting .228/.272/.402 in 44 games as a rookie in 2025.

Mayer is only 23 and was Boston's first-round pick in 2021, so it would be unfair to give up on him. There's also an argument that the club would be better served letting him work through any issues at the MLB level rather than sending him to the minors.

Suárez is also deeply-flawed player entering his age-34 season after rating as the worst defensive third baseman among qualified starters. His bat is tantalizing because of the power output (49 homers in 159 games last season), but he's an incredibly streak hitter who is prone to long slumps due to his contact issues.

There was a difference of 215 points in Suárez's OPS from his time with the Arizona Diamondbacks (.897) and Seattle Mariners (.682) last season.

Boston's starting rotation right now features Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suárez, Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello and Johan Oviedo. Kutter Crawford, who missed all of 2025 due to injuries, is healthy and expected to compete for a rotation spot in spring training.

Prospects Connelly Early and Payton Tolle got their first taste of the big leagues at the end of last season, so they could also factor into the mix early this season.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported in December that the Red Sox "quietly" shopped Bello, who is under contract through 2030 and won't make more than $10 million until 2028, so he could be a trade chip used to acquire a potential bat.