Red Sox Reportedly Have Spoken To NL Club About Potential Deal

The Red Sox appear to be exploring all options as they try to improve the club this MLB offseason.

Boston clearly is prepared to spend big in free agency, as evidenced by the franchise’s aggressive pursuit of Juan Soto. But in addition to surveying the open market, Craig Breslow and company seem to be looking into potential trades.

According to MassLive’s Sean McAdam, the Red Sox and the Cardinals have had “preliminary discussions” about a trade involving Nolan Arenado. A 10-time Gold Glove Award winner and eight-time All-Star, Arenado has three years left on his current contract with St. Louis.

A trade for Arenado would make some sense for the Red Sox, who need a right-handed bat and also could stand to improve defensively. But such a trade all but surely would signal a position change for franchise cornerstone Rafael Devers, who hasn’t yet had any conversations with manager Alex Cora about moving off the hot corner.

There’s also a chance Boston is prioritizing a different third baseman. Multiple reports and highly complimentary remarks from Cora indicated the Red Sox will pursue Alex Bregman after losing the Soto sweepstakes. But if Bregman latches on elsewhere, Boston’s Arenado pursuit potentially could intensify.