Boston’s offseason pivot is taking shape — less certainty than Bregman, less chaos than Bichette, and a clear signal about how the front office wants to proceed.
The Alex Bregman chapter closed loudly, expensively, and with more friction than Boston would ever publicly admit.
Now the Red Sox are staring at what comes next - and the answer, at least in the short term, is starting to come into focus.
According to Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive, the Red Sox “like” free agent third baseman Eugenio Suarez, and the expectation is that it won’t take long to determine whether that interest turns into something real. With Bregman officially in Chicago and Bo Bichette representing a far messier, higher-stakes gamble, Suarez suddenly sits at the center of Boston’s Plan B conversation.
That alone tells you plenty about where this offseason pivot is heading.
For months, Bregman represented the cleanest solution. He fit the roster, the timeline, and the temperament of a front office intent on avoiding chaos. Boston pursued him aggressively - albeit deliberately - and ultimately drew a hard line in the low-$160 million range.
Chicago stepped over it. Boston didn’t follow.
AJ Pierzynski’s account only reinforced that the Red Sox weren’t negotiating emotionally, they were negotiating structurally. Once the relationship soured and the Cubs offered certainty, the outcome was inevitable.
The aftermath has been anything but simple.
Bo Bichette remains the biggest name left, and the linkage is obvious. He’s a premium bat, in his prime, and capable of anchoring a lineup. He’s also reportedly seeking north of $300 million, has only played shortstop at the major league level, and would force Boston to let positional dominoes fall around him. Marcelo Mayer, Trevor Story, Kristian Campbell - all of them become part of the calculus the moment Bichette enters the picture.
That’s a high-variance bet.
Suarez is something else entirely.
He doesn’t bring Bregman’s all-around polish or Bichette’s ceiling. What he does bring is power - real, unmistakable power. Forty-plus home run potential is not theoretical with Suarez; it’s the foundation of his value. He was good for 49 bombs in 2025 between his time in Arizona and Seattle.
Oct 20, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Seattle Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suarez (28) hits a single against the Toronto Blue Jays in the second inning during game seven of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre. (John E. Sokolowski/Imagn Images)MORE RED SOX STORIES:
For a Red Sox lineup that too often stalled when the long ball disappeared, that matters.
So do the warts.
Suarez’s strikeout rate pushing 30% in 2025 isn’t a footnote.
His defense at third base is serviceable at best.
This isn’t a plug-and-play solution in the way Bregman was.
It’s a choice - one that prioritizes outcome over aesthetics.
And that aligns with the broader pivot that’s been bubbling since Saturday night.
WEEI’s Rob Bradford’s report that Boston could double down on run prevention plus add a “tier B” offensive piece rather than chase another elite bat now feels less like speculation and more like context. Add another frontline arm. Tighten games. Win margins. Pair that approach with a power bat who doesn’t require nine figures or positional gymnastics, and the shape of the roster starts to make sense, even if it’s less thrilling.
This is the cost of how the Bregman negotiation played out.
Boston didn’t lose him because they weren’t interested. They lost him because they valued control, timing, and structure more than pushing guarantees late into a deal. That restraint now defines every alternative.
Bichette represents chaos and upside. Suarez represents clarity and compromise.
Neither replaces Bregman cleanly.
But one fits the version of the Red Sox they’ve revealed themselves to be over the last 72 hours - disciplined (to a fault), deliberate (to a fault), and willing to sacrifice star power to avoid bending too far.
Plan B was never going to feel as good as Plan A.
Oct 19, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Seattle Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suarez (28) hits a RBI single in the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game six of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre. (Nick Turchiaro/Imagn Images)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!
Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.