Red Sox Listed A ‘Preferred Destination’ For 8-Time All-Star

The Boston Red Sox may be the favorite to sign free agency third baseman Alex Bregman this winter.

If the two sides are unable to reach an agreement, Boston may have another alternative.

Fellow veteran star third baseman Nolan Arenado has been linked to the Red Sox this offseason and meets much of the same boxes as Bregman.

According to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam, Boston is a “preferred destination — if not the preferred destination” for Arenado.

Red Sox Star Would be Impacted More by Potential Arenado Addition Than Bregman Move

As the MassLive duo highlighted, Arenado is a “imperfect fit” for Cora’s club, which already has the franchise’s face (Rafael Devers) in the hot corner.

However, Cotillo and McAdam noted that if the eight-time All-Star joins the team, a workaround may be possible.

“So far this offseason, team officials have adamantly stated that Devers remains the club’s third baseman for the foreseeable future,” the report said. “Quietly, though, there has been a desire all winter to pursue potential infield changes as the Red Sox have explored the markets for both Arenado and top free agent Alex Bregman. While Bregman would likely shift to second base should a Red Sox match materialize, Arenado — a 10-time Gold Glover at third base — would almost certainly not move off the position. That means the Sox may move Rafael Devers to first base to replace the incumbent Triston Casas.”

Arenado has played all 1,629 of his career regular season games in the field at third base, while Devers hasn’t played first base in the big leagues either.

In addition to his five Silver Slugger medals and three NL home run titles, Arenado would be a significant defensive upgrade.

From 2012 until 2022, the 33-year-old won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves while also winning six Platinum Gloves. While he hasn’t won a championship in the last two seasons, he still led the senior circuit in both putouts (103) and fielding percentage (.977) for a third baseman, with only nine mistakes in 392 defensive chances.

Devers, meanwhile, has been the team’s greatest hitter since erstwhile fan favorites Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts were controversially released by ownership in 2020 and 2022, respectively, but his glove work has disappointed fans.

Since his first full season in 2018, he has led the junior circuit in third base mistakes, concluding with 12 in 2024. Devers also has the most career miscues among active players at the hot corner, with 141, ranking him sixth overall.

Arenado is eighth on the list but has played nearly 600 more innings than Devers.

Possible Arenado Trade Would Reunite Him With Former Longtime Teammate

If the former second-round pick joins Devers and the rest of the Boston lineup, he’ll reunite with shortstop Trevor Story, a longtime Colorado Rockies colleague.

Arenado and Story spent five seasons together with the NL West club, starting in 2016, when the latter finished fourth in the league’s Rookie of the Year voting. Arenado spent eight years with the Rockies, from 2013 to 2020, before joining the St. Louis Cardinals for the last four seasons.

For five seasons, the combination of strong hitters combined to produce one of the most dominant left sides of the infields in the National League, leading Colorado to its most recent postseason trips in 2017 and 2018.

The Red Sox have already had a busy winter but could be gearing up for one more big addition.