When slugging third baseman Eugenio Suarez signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday afternoon, another option for the Boston Red Sox went off the market.

And there are no big-time options left, at least in free agency. While the Red Sox have done generally well this offseason in adding Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez and Johan Oviedo to the pitching staff, and Willson Contreras to the offense, the free agent search for hitters has been a complete failure.

The team whiffed on bringing back Alex Bregman, was unable to secure Bo Bichette, and missed on Suarez.

So where do they go from here? ESPN's Buster Olney of ESPN chimed in with a late-night post on "X."

Perhaps most interesting position player available in the market: The Cardinals' Brendan Donovan. Some rival execs fully expect he'll be moved in the next couple of weeks. The Mariners have had interest; he'd fit the Red Sox, too, although Boston seems intent on leaning on Marcelo Mayer in a big way this year, while going with a Hamilton/Gonzalez platoon at 2B.

Olney's right: Donovan makes sense because he plays second base, which is the biggest position of need for the group right now. He's also affordable, making just less than $6 million this season. However, he's also left-handed, which doesn't really help a lineup that is already left-handed dominant with Mayer, Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida. 

A possible deal also makes sense given how well the Red Sox and Cardinals work together on trades. The two sides have already executed deals for Gray and Contreras this offseason, and since Chaim Bloom (Cardinals head of baseball ops) knows the Red Sox so well from his time there, he seems fully willing to make deals with Boston.

But we haven't heard as much on the Donovan front in recent weeks, and Seattle appears the best suitor.

The No. 4 pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of the California high school ranks, Mayer was a top ten prospect in the sport before debuting in 2025. He hit only .228 in 44 games, ending the season on the injured list with a wrist problem. Injuries have been a problem throughout his minor league career too. Can the team really count on a guy that's never played more than 91 games in a single pro season (2022)?

A speedster who was acquired before the 2022 season, Hamilton hit .198 last season with six home runs and 22 steals. He's a .222 hitter lifetime, but he has 57 steals in parts of three years.

A 29-year-old, Gonzalez played well in 2025, hitting .305 in 96 games. He had nine homers and 53 RBIs. Lifetime, he's a .269 hitter and represents a good option against lefties.

If the team wants to look for an interesting under-the-radar name, we discussed one on Sunday: Miguel Andujar.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

Remember to join our RED SOX on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Red Sox fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!