Yankees $45 million two-time All-Star loosely linked to Red Sox: ‘Great Pickup’

Second base was easily the biggest hole for the Boston Red Sox in 2024. How will things be different in 2025?

Vaughn Grissom, acquired in the Chris Sale trade, was supposed to lock down the position, but his entire season was derailed by injuries from the jump and he couldn’t find his footing in the limited time he got in the majors. Those who entered were not much better.

Enmanuel Valdez got the opening day started, and David Hamilton surprisingly ended up playing the most games at the position. In all, the Red Sox used nine players at the position last season, which included cameos from starting catcher Connor Wong and recently traded minor leaguer Mickey Gasper.

Grissom should be back in the mix, and top prospect Kristian Campbell could also push for playing time at the position. But is there still a chance the Red Sox feel uncomfortable enough with their in-house options to make a move in free agency?

On Thursday, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report named New York Yankees two-time All-Star Gleyber Torres as one free agent to watch for the Red Sox, who he argued still have plenty of work to do if they want to make the playoffs in 2025.

“As far as the bats go, second base is a big question mark for the Red Sox, and pretty much all of their depth elsewhere is in the form of highly touted prospects who have yet to play in the majors,” Miller said.

“It would take some getting used to after he spent the last seven years with the Yankees, but Gleyber Torres could be a great pickup for a Boston team that should have a fair amount of money left in its budget.”

Torres, 27, is coming off a mediocre season that took off when manager Aaron Boone moved him to the leadoff spot. He had a .709 OPS/101 OPS+, but he has had three very good seasons, most recently in 2023, when he hit 25 home runs and finished with a 118 OPS+.

Where Torres has struggled lately is on defense, and that’s a mistake the Red Sox really can’t afford. They’ve had one of the worst defensive infields in baseball for three straight years, and adding another glove with -4 outs above average in 2024 doesn’t seem like the answer.

If Boston isn’t as comfortable with Grissom or Campbell as previously thought, there might be a world where they take a shot at Torres, who is expected to get a three-year, $45 million contract (Athletics). But Miller may see a fit that doesn’t exist in reality.

More MLB: Red Sox Blockbuster Trade Idea Sends $27 Million Mariner All-Star to Boston