With Sonny Gray now in the rotation, the expectation is that the Red Sox will now move onto adding a prominent bat as the next item on their to-do list, with such major names as Pete Alonso, J.T. Realmuto, Kazuma Okamoto, and former Boston players Alex Bregman and Kyle Schwarber linked to the team. Reports indicate that the Sox might try to acquire more than one player from that group, but Alex Speier of the Boston Globe also lays out a different path. According to sources, Speier writes that the Red Sox are considering adding not necessarily two top-tier stars, but rather a bigger name and then “an additional complementary position player.”
Speier cites Jorge Polanco as a model for this type of addition, so it would seem like the idea is still to add a prominent everyday bat rather than a true platoon type, for instance. But, someone like Polanco wouldn’t be as expensive as the other free agent targets, and an older player (Polanco turned 32 last July) on a shorter-term contract might have more appeal for a Boston team deep in younger position players.
For instance, if the Red Sox signed Alonso and Polanco, they’d have first base covered with Alonso, Trevor Story returning at shortstop, Polanco toggling between second and third base, and Marcelo Mayer able to gain playing time at whichever position Polanco wasn’t playing. Re-signing Bregman would create an infield alignment of Bregman at third base, Story at shortstop, Mayer probably as the primary second baseman, and Polanco perhaps getting some time at first base. Polanco has all of one career MLB game as a first baseman, but as injuries limited his on-field time in 2025, a shift over to first base duty makes sense for Polanco as he gets deeper into his career.
In short, there are plenty of approaches the Red Sox can take, as right now Story seems to be the only infielder truly locked into a regular role heading into 2026. Triston Casas is penciled in at first base but has been often mentioned as a trade candidate, Mayer is a top prospect who is still unproven at the big league level, and any number of players (i.e. Ceddanne Rafaela, Romy Gonzalez, Kristian Campbell, David Hamilton) could factor into the infield picture as well. If not Polanco himself, another multi-position infielder in that mold would help the Red Sox juggle the playing time situation.
While more rotation moves might yet be in the offing, acquiring Gray relatively early in the offseason gives the Red Sox some measure of relief in knowing that at least one frontline arm is in the fold, giving the club more flexibility in broadly assessing its options on the position-player front. Budget-wise or luxury tax-wise, there is nothing necessarily preventing Boston from making multiple splashes in free agency, but one big-ticket signing and another more modest signing would probably be preferable from a payroll perspective.
