Three Second Base Free Agent Targets for the Red Sox

It seems as though the second base position has been cursed for the Boston Red Sox ever since Manny Machado slid spikes up into Dustin Pedroia’s knee, effectively ending his career. In the ensuing years, the position has been a revolving door for the team. There was some hope that Kristian Campbell would be able to step in and become the second baseman of the future after he broke camp with the big league club for the 2025 season, but that experiment lasted around a month before major league pitching caught up with him and he finished his season in Triple-A Worcester. Even if there's hope that his bat will turn around, his defense was so putrid that it's hard to rely on him to run away with the job in 2026.

There’s some hope that Marcelo Mayer could be the person to solidify the position, but he’s better suited for shortstop or third base, and his struggles to stay healthy give a bit of pause for concern. Trevor Story could slide to second to play Mayer at his natural position, but would the team do that to a veteran player coming off such a strong season? Probably not, unless Story himself advocated for the position switch. On top of that, President of Baseball Operations Craig Breslow confirmed that Story would be the shortstop moving forward.

That leaves us scouring the free-agent market to see just who could plug into second base for at least the 2026 season and offer more than just a warm body to the Red Sox. Get ready, because the second base market is about as shallow as the wading section at your local pool.

Gleyber Torres (29, 2.6 fWAR)

Torres had a rebound season in Detroit after signing a one-year, prove-it contract before the 2025 season. He slashed .256/.358/.387 with 16 home runs, 74 RBIs, and a 113 wRC+. He played 134 games at second this season while committing five errors with a .990 fielding percentage. He’s earned a longer-term contract than he had going into the 2025 season, but he leaves a lot to be desired from a consistency standpoint. He's streaky, just a year removed from the worst season of his career where he was almost a walking strikeout. If this is the best the team can do, they may be better off hoping an internal option presents itself during spring training instead. He also has a qualifying offer attached to him, and that could keep the Red Sox from being interested in the former Yankee.

Jorge Polanco (32, 2.6 fWAR)

Much like Torres above, Polanco had his best statistical season in ages in 2025. He slashed .265/.326/.495 with 26 home runs, 78 RBIs, and posted a 132 wRC+. He had the potential to be a playoff hero for the Mariners until a cold spell slowed him down in the ALCS. The biggest issue here is that Polanco is 32 and he saw more time at DH (88 games) than second base (38 games). He can’t be trusted to take on a full season at second anymore and still produce those kinds of offensive numbers. He’s likely in line for a two-year deal and paying someone who is a bat-first second baseman doesn’t make sense for the Red Sox. who can turn to Kristian Campbell for the same purpose. It’s telling that the Mariners opted to not extend a qualifying offer to Polanco, as his age and lack of positional versatility are working against him in a weak market.

Ha-Seong Kim (30, 0.3 fWAR)

Kim only played in 48 games this season, so take his stats with a grain of salt. He slashed .234/.304/.345 with five home runs, 17 RBIs, six stolen bases, and posted an 82 wRC+. He’s a shortstop first, so we have to get a bit creative here, but if he would shift to second it would take strain off his him throwing arm and hopefully allow him to get back to where he was pre-injury. I’m struggling to see a multi-year deal for Kim, though, and I think he’s going to have to sign a one-year, prove-it deal. He declined a player option with the Braves for $16 million, so he will likely be looking to get above that, but he may end up settling for less when push comes to shove.

That’s a pretty thin market if you ask me. There are other names out there like Luis Rengifo, who has all the tools to be a successful second baseman now that he’s moved there full time, but he’s been unable to put it together so far. Luis Arraez is another second baseman that technically checks the boxes for the Red Sox, and he could be a buy-low candidate after a tough season, but it’s hard to see the team handing him a multi-year contract at this point in his career when he played just 14 games out of 154 at second base in 2025. He profiles as a first baseman now, but one without pop.

Given the state of the market, the Red Sox are likely going to have to hope that an internal name breaks out as their next second baseman, or make a trade that no one sees coming to fill the glaring hole up the middle. Can I interest anyone in Ketel Marte?