BOSTON – Well, this was certainly a pivot that Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow pulled off on Wednesday.
Reeling from the weekend loss of Alex Bregman, who declined an offer to return to Boston and instead signed with the Cubs, the Sox re-allocated much of the investment they were prepared to make in the All-Star third baseman and instead agreed to terms with upper-echelon free agent lefty starter Ranger Suárez on a five-year, $130-million contract, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The club has not confirmed the deal.
While Breslow has been plenty busy with trades this winter, Suárez was the first free agent Boston has added in the Hot Stove season.
Given that the heavily pursued Bo Bichette is the only top infield bat left in free agency, Breslow decided to respond from the Bregman loss in a different way, leaning hard into a process that has been in motion for weeks – improving the starting rotation.
Shortly before Thanksgiving, Breslow added solid veteran Sonny Gray in a trade with the Cardinals. On Dec. 4, the Sox acquired Johan Oviedo – a righty they believe has great upside in addition to elite extension on his delivery – from the Pirates.
The rotation currently stacks up like this: Garrett Crochet, Suárez, Gray, Brayan Bello and Oviedo.
They also have the type of rotation depth beyond that group that many teams would envy with Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval and Kyle Harrison in the mix, along with two top prospects who made strong debuts last September in Connelly Early and Payton Tolle.
It won’t be surprising if Breslow uses some of his starting depth to get the infield bat the team is still seeking. With Bregman gone, Marcelo Mayer is currently the leading candidate to play the hot corner. But if the Sox wind up trading for a third baseman or signing one (Eugenio Suárez?), Mayer would slot in at second base. The Sox also have four strong outfielders for three spots in Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu. Of that quartet, only Anthony should be considered off-limits.
Given this latest move by Breslow, run prevention is sure to become a buzzphrase around the Red Sox as Spring Training draws near.
Since becoming a full-time starter in 2022, when he helped the Phillies reach the World Series, Suárez has been one of the best left-handers in the game. Over that span, he posted a 3.59 ERA over 104 starts. He’s also been excellent in the postseason -- in 11 appearances (eight starts), he owns a career 1.48 ERA.
That includes five innings over which he gave up one run against the Dodgers in the 2025 National League Division Series.
After the season, the Phillies tendered a qualifying offer to Suárez, which he declined. The QO, which would have paid him $22.025 million for 2026, attached him to Draft compensation; since Suárez is going to the Red Sox, Philadelphia will receive a 2026 Draft pick after the fourth round.
In this age of overpowering velocity, Suárez – who averaged 91.3 mph with his fastball last season – relies more on command and pitch mix.
Entering his age-30 campaign in 2026, Suárez brings a deep arsenal featuring six pitches -- a sinker, changeup, cutter, curveball, four-seam fastball and slider. Suárez’s offspeed offerings have been his most effective, with opponents hitting just .192 against his curveball and .203 against his changeup. That fits in with the philosophy of pitching coach Andrew Bailey, who frequently cites that fastballs are historically the offering hitters do the most damage against.
Suárez also offers another trait that is invaluable in this era – pitching deep into games. He averaged six innings per start in 2025 (157 1/3 innings over 26 starts) -- and has historically produced a high ground-ball rate. Though it was down some last season (48%), it was at 53.2% in an All-Star 2024 campaign.
The southpaw is one of the best in the Majors when it comes to producing soft contact, with a 2025 hard-hit rate of 31.1%, which led MLB starters. The 5.5% barrel rate against him last season ranked in the 89th percentile among qualified pitchers, and he was in the 75th percentile or better in average exit velocity (86.5 mph, 95th), walk rate (5.8%, 86th), expected ERA (3.16, 84th) and chase rate (30.5%, 78th).
As an added bonus, Suárez is known as a strong clubhouse guy who is loved by teammates due in large part to his fun-loving nature. Pitching in the pressure cooker of Philadelphia should prepare Suárez just fine for what is to come in Boston.