With Juan Soto off the board, the Red Sox will have to explore new avenues for their mission to add an impact bat this offseason.
Teoscar Hernández has been most commonly talked about as a potential backup plan for Boston, and for good reason. The Red Sox had interest in Hernández last offseason and the two-time All-Star has eye-popping career numbers at Fenway Park.
Hernández reportedly isn’t the only game-changing slugger drawing attention from Boston, though. The Red Sox also are showing “strong interest” in Anthony Santander, per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.
Boston’s reported interest in Santander makes sense. The 30-year-old swings a very powerful bat to the tune of 105 combined home runs over the last three seasons. Santander also is a switch hitter, which would give the Red Sox some lineup flexibility and balance out a batting order that’s poised to be predominantly left-handed.
Of course, signing Santander wouldn’t be terribly easy for Boston. Like the Hernández market, Santander’s group of suitors reportedly also includes clubs ready to spend big after missing out on Soto.
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But the Red Sox probably should pace the field in terms of aggressiveness. Alex Cora’s club will be in a tough spot if it doesn’t add at least one of the best available position players this offseason.
