The Boston Red Sox, to the thanks of a voracious fanbase, finally made a splash in dealing for emerging ace Garrett Crochet. The 25-year-old southpaw gives the rotation a bonafide No. 1 at the top. However, every member of Red Sox Nation remains waiting desperately for the next move that Craig Breslow and the organization are going to pull off.
Almost immediately after the Crochet trade, Breslow made his intentions for the rest of Boston's offseason clear. He still wants to add another starter, another bullpen arm, and a right-handed bat to the mix for the Red Sox roster. All of those still qualify as clear needs for this club and one player who has long fit the bill for the franchise has been former Blue Jay and Dodger, Teoscar Hernandez.
The right-handed outfielder has been a menace when playing in Fenway Park throughout his career and would make perfect sense as an upgrade from the right side of the plate. He almost landed in Boston last winter but the Red Sox were unwilling to tack on extra years to his deal. And now, Hernandez, Boston and the incumbent Dodgers might be in a similar stand-off with the free agent.
According to reports, Hernandez and LA still have mutual interest but the free agent has not yet signed due to his desires in a new deal not being met. He reportedly wants no deferrals in his contract — which we know has not been the Dodgers' speed lately — and the two sides are also apart on signing bonus and AAV of the deal. Given that much of the Red Sox buzz has also died, one might assume that Breslow is in the same spot in terms of negotiating.
But rather than overextending Boston to land Hernandez, Breslow and the Red Sox have a pivot sitting right in front of them that might make as much sense as the free agent — if not more.
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During the Winter Meetings, it was reported that the Cubs, in addition to shopping Cody Bellinger, could also be open to dealing outfielder Seiya Suzuki in cost-cutting measures. And Suzuki profiles as someone who could be an absolutely perfect Plan B for the Red Sox and Hernandez — perhaps so good that he might should be Plan A.
If you need any convincing, take a side-by-side look at the Baseball Savant pages of Suzuki and Hernandez. Just on the surface, they are similarly great in all the right ways but the current Cubs outfielder comes with less swing-and-miss and perhaps fewer concerns.
The viability of the Red Sox pursuing a Suzuki trade, however, almost fully depends on what the Cubs would be willing to take from him. Boston, even after the Crochet deal, still has a Top 10 farm system in baseball. Having said that, Chicago would be making the move in order to clear salary, so they may be willing to take less in return depending on how much money the Sox would be willing to take on.
Suzuki still has two years remaining on the five-year pact he signed with the Cubs in 2022 with an AAV of just $19 million. In theory, Boston could take all of that on to relieve Chicago and, thus, potentially lighten the return package they'd be sending to the Windy City. Even taking on the full salary, it'd still likely be a cheaper option than Hernandez in free agency.
Breslow has been active and invested with the Boston front office this offseason to this point. Yet, Crochet and Aroldis Chapman are the only major additions that have been made. There's still plenty of time but he needs to get deals done. And while Hernandez might be looking less likely by the day, Suzuki should absolutely be someone that the Red Sox are heavily considering adding to the mix.
