Red Sox Predicted To Trade For Infielder Coming Off First All-Star Season

The Boston Red Sox missed out on another productive infielder when Eugenio Suárez reportedly agreed to sign with the Cincinnati Reds.

The Red Sox lost a key offensive piece when Alex Bregman signed with the Chicago Cubs. They have not done anything to replace him, and their internal pieces may not be enough. They have been linked to Isaac Paredes and Brendan Donovan in trade rumors.

Both were All-Stars last season and would provide the Red Sox offense with a major boost. CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder predicted the Red Sox would find a way to pull off a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for Donovan.

“It’s the perfect time for the Cardinals to get the best offer from teams that still need to beef up their position-player side of the roster,” Snyder noted on Friday. “I agree with RJ (Anderson) that the (Seattle) Mariners would be a great fit, but I’ll go back to the well with the Cardinals-Red Sox connection and say Donovan ends up as the everyday second baseman in Boston.”

The Red Sox have already made a couple of key trades with their old friend Chaim Bloom. The Cardinals have already dealt Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras to the Red Sox this offseason.

Donovan has played most of his games in the big leagues at second base. He won a utility Gold Glove as a rookie in 2022. He was an All-Star for the first time last season. He did not have the best year defensively overall, but was solid at second base.

He had a minus-one outs above average on the year, but he has a plus-two outs above average at second base. Offensively, he had a .775 OPS, 10 home runs, 50 RBIs and 42 extra-base hits.

The Cardinals are not going to trade him at a discount, and are reportedly not looking to trade him. However, if the Red Sox make a strong offer, the Cardinals would likely be willing to move him.

The Cardinals are retooling, and swapping Donovan for a couple of talented prospects or young players would be wise.