Red Sox Show Interest In Seiya Suzuki

[Steve Drumwright]

 

The Boston Red Sox already have a lot of outfielders. That doesn't mean they aren't in the market for an upgrade.

Free-agent outfielder Seiya Suzuki is among the players the Red Sox have shown interest in this offseason, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Abraham also mentions that the Red Sox are shopping outfielder Jarren Duran, which has been an obvious move Boston needs to make this offseason.

The 32-year-old Suzuki is coming off the best of his five seasons with the Chicago Cubs, who signed him from Japan following the lockout ending in 2022. In 2026, the right-handed hitter slashed .270/.368/.473 with 26 homers and 86 RBIs, producing a 5.1 bWAR. That came after having career highs of 32 homers and 103 RBIs in 2025, although his slash line suffered to a .245/.326/.478 mark.

Suzuki has played mainly right field for the Cubs, but does have 16 games of experience in left. A shift to left would be likely with two-time AL Gold Glove winner Wilyer Abreu in right. Of course, Suzuki could also be a designated hitter, which he was for most of 2025.

 

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[moonslav59]

The dreaded word... "interest."

[Randy Red Sox]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

The dreaded word... "interest."

not to worry. nothing is going to happen until after the 3-4 month lockout on Dec 1st.

[notin]

3 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

The dreaded word... "interest."

Would fans prefer Breslow didn’t show interest in any free agents? Not getting the reason folks complain about this so much. Do fans think other teams only talk to players they sign, and never anyone else?

[moonslav59]

32 minutes ago, notin said:

Would fans prefer Breslow didn’t show interest in any free agents? Not getting the reason folks complain about this so much. Do fans think other teams only talk to players they sign, and never anyone else?

No, it's better to kick the tires than not at all, but I'm sick of the same routine.

[JoeBrady]

11 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

No, it's better to kick the tires than not at all, but I'm sick of the same routine.

If you're sick of the routine, you shouldn't read the articles, with all due respect.  Every team will get mentioned in an 'interest' column.  My guess is that agents engage in this to keep their clients names in the news.  That FO's do this for mis-direction all the time.  That there is a quid pro quo between the writers and the agents and the FO where you print my rumors and I'll give you some inside info.

Moreover, an interest is not a commitment.  Philly will outbid us, imvho.  They need a RH RF on both counts.  We need neither a RH, nor a DH.  And there are other teams likely to put big money on the table.  The odds on any given FA is 20% at best

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, JoeBrady said:

If you're sick of the routine, you shouldn't read the articles, with all due respect.  Every team will get mentioned in an 'interest' column.  My guess is that agents engage in this to keep their clients names in the news.  That FO's do this for mis-direction all the time.  That there is a quid pro quo between the writers and the agents and the FO where you print my rumors and I'll give you some inside info.

Moreover, an interest is not a commitment.  Philly will outbid us, imvho.  They need a RH RF on both counts.  We need neither a RH, nor a DH.  And there are other teams likely to put big money on the table.  The odds on any given FA is 20% at best

Red Sox get mentioned more often as "interested" since they have an active fanbase. It gets the clicks to put these articles up each offseason. The Sox probably have "interest" in 60+ FAs. 

[Hugh2]

Suzuki might be fine, he is coming off a great season.  But the Sox always seem to go after guys who were premium guys 4-7 years ago when the price tag comes down.  Sometimes that works out great and you sign a guy like Shane Victorino who helps you win a world series but then does absolutely nothing for you for the next two years.  That seems to be the most optimistic outcome with how Red Sox FA targets typically go. 

Suzuki had great year last year, can he do it again and for how long? he will turn 33 next year.  They could easily give him 80-90 million plus and see him do absolutely nothing for this team. 

I don't mind these types of moves to round out a roster when you have a hole, but this team always seems to shop the B market when they lack elite talent.  

[Hugh2]

On the other hand, I feel like Suzuki could absolutely mash at Fenway park 

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Suzuki might be fine, he is coming off a great season.  But the Sox always seem to go after guys who were premium guys 4-7 years ago when the price tag comes down.  Sometimes that works out great and you sign a guy like Shane Victorino who helps you win a world series but then does absolutely nothing for you for the next two years.  That seems to be the most optimistic outcome with how Red Sox FA targets typically go. 

Suzuki had great year last year, can he do it again and for how long? he will turn 33 next year.  They could easily give him 80-90 million plus and see him do absolutely nothing for this team. 

I don't mind these types of moves to round out a roster when you have a hole, but this team always seems to shop the B market when they lack elite talent.  

TBF to Suzuki, he's been very good for 4 straight seasons. The increase in WAR in '26 is solely due to defense which is overstated in WAR. He's been very consistent offensively. 

[Hugh2]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

TBF to Suzuki, he's been very good for 4 straight seasons. The increase in WAR in '26 is solely due to defense which is overstated in WAR. He's been very consistent offensively. 

Agreed, I certainly would root for him if he's signed. 

This is how I look at it.  You're at the roulette table and win big by betting on black 4 times in a row.  At some point if you don't walk away you're going to get burned. 

As good as Suzuki is, he's also going to be turning 33 next season.  At his age, the odds of him hitting a wall and being not much better than replacement level are very high.  And it just seems that the Sox always go after that guy as their "premium" gets and never more premium player. 

And I get you're not beating the Dodgers most of the time, but jeez....maybe just once go after the guy.  And TBF.....who really is that on the offensive side this year?

 

[notin]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Red Sox get mentioned more often as "interested" since they have an active fanbase. It gets the clicks to put these articles up each offseason. The Sox probably have "interest" in 60+ FAs. 

Exactly.  The Mariners will probably have interest at some level in 60+ different FAs, but it’s just not always worth mentioning…

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

If you're sick of the routine, you shouldn't read the articles, with all due respect.  Every team will get mentioned in an 'interest' column.  My guess is that agents engage in this to keep their clients names in the news.  That FO's do this for mis-direction all the time.  That there is a quid pro quo between the writers and the agents and the FO where you print my rumors and I'll give you some inside info.

Moreover, an interest is not a commitment.  Philly will outbid us, imvho.  They need a RH RF on both counts.  We need neither a RH, nor a DH.  And there are other teams likely to put big money on the table.  The odds on any given FA is 20% at best

I can't read articles that cause me to be reminded of the "same old routine?"

I do get mildly encouraged when we kick the ties on players I like.

There are times, like with Bregman last winter, I wished we weren't kicking his tires.

I will continue to read articles with headlines about "interest." I won't every get too excited, unless I read we are a finalist or have made a "competitive offer" by someone not in the organization.

I'm fully aware "interest" is not a commitment: with us it hardly ever is.

I'd say our odds of any FA we show "interest" in is way below 20%.

Then you get surprise signings, where no "interest" was reported.

 

[mvp 78]

Guarantee the Sox are one of the 11 teams:

 

[mvp 78]

39 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Agreed, I certainly would root for him if he's signed. 

This is how I look at it.  You're at the roulette table and win big by betting on black 4 times in a row.  At some point if you don't walk away you're going to get burned. 

As good as Suzuki is, he's also going to be turning 33 next season.  At his age, the odds of him hitting a wall and being not much better than replacement level are very high.  And it just seems that the Sox always go after that guy as their "premium" gets and never more premium player. 

And I get you're not beating the Dodgers most of the time, but jeez....maybe just once go after the guy.  And TBF.....who really is that on the offensive side this year?

 

The problem is that if you are worried about 33 year olds, you are never going to be serious in the FA market again. 

[Hugh2]

57 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

The problem is that if you are worried about 33 year olds, you are never going to be serious in the FA market again. 

I suppose with the way FA is heading you may be right.  But they seemingly never compete for the guys who are in their 20's and reach FA. And there are always some, even now

[drewski6]

4 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Red Sox get mentioned more often as "interested" since they have an active fanbase. It gets the clicks to put these articles up each offseason. The Sox probably have "interest" in 60+ FAs. 

I dont think its the rs who are doing it (agreeing with both you and joebrady).  Like they are not the ones being like look at all these players we are interested in (patting themslves on the back and leaking articles)

The closest they came was a couple years ago when they were like.....we are all in.....on value.  lol

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

The problem is that if you are worried about 33 year olds, you are never going to be serious in the FA market again. 

yup, thats what i was telling moon last week.

Every contract has the potential and probably will go south at some point.  And if you are just so scared of potentially having a bad contract, enjoy 4th place every year.

"We cant have bad contracts because it will get in our ability to sign players....And because contracts can go bad, we cant sign players. Because signing players hurts our ability to sign players"

If you are always worried about 4-5 years down the road, then you are never truly competing in the present.  If you are always planning for tomorrow, tomorrow never comes.

Thats why im a window guy.