Trading For Cubs Slugger Intriguing Juan Soto Backup Plan For Red Sox

The Red Sox remain firmly entrenched in the Juan Soto hunt, but it sounds like a long-awaited resolution could be coming soon.

The MLB winter meetings begin next week in Dallas, and the latest reports indicate Soto — the top free agent on the market — could make his decision this weekend. The Red Sox are among the top contenders to land the generational hitter, but it won’t be easy.

In fact, a couple of reports seem to indicate the Red Sox might ultimately be on the outside looking in. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow also stressed the importance of having options.

“We have to constantly think about, ‘OK, this is Plan A, but if that falls through, what does Plan B look like, and what does Plan C look like?’” Breslow told MassLive.com, seemingly referencing the Soto chase.

If and when the Red Sox lose out on Soto, they’ll have to pivot. The starting rotation absolutely needs an upgrade, but it might not hurt to give the Chicago Cubs a call about outfielders, based on recent reports.

The New York Post’s Joel Sherman reported Friday the Cubs are “determined” to trade either Cody Bellinger or Seiya Suzuki. While it might not make a ton of sense on the surface, Breslow might want to give his former coworker, Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer a ring and see what might cost to acquire Suzuki.

As an organization, the Red Sox are familiar with Suzuki. They were in the mix to sign the Japanese slugger before he ultimately landed on the North Side of Chicago in 2022 on a five-year, $85 million deal.

The 30-year-old has improved each season since coming to America. Suzuki is a .278 career hitter who really packs a punch given his relatively small 5-11, 182-pound frame. His OPS increased over all three seasons with a career-best .848 mark in 2024. That sandwiched him between Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez among all qualified outfielders in Major League Baseball.

You can also add Suzuki to an unending list of players who would benefit from calling Fenway Park home. The spray chart below shows all of his batted balls — excluding his 21 home runs — and it’s clear to see he’d benefit from taking aim at the Green Monster.

Defensively, he is in the bottom third of the league among qualified outfielders, in a neighborhood with Rob Refsnyder and Tyler O’Neill — probably not winning a Gold Glove anytime soon. That was mostly as a right fielder with the Cubs. In Boston, he could play left field where those defensive limitations aren’t as impactful, especially for someone who struggled with balls to his left.

Financially, it’s certainly manageable. Suzuki has two years left at $17 million per season. That’s easy to withstand, especially when you’re considering Soto at $45 million annually. Make no mistake: Suzuki is no Soto, but in terms of a backup plan, you could do worse.

If there is somewhere the Red Sox are seemingly set, though, it’s in the outfield, especially with Roman Anthony knocking on the door. Acquiring Suzuki, though, could precede a trade (ideally for pitching), or it could buy another year at least and take the pressure of Anthony, the No. 1 prospect in baseball.

Essentially, Suzuki represents an adequate Soto backup plan and an improved O’Neill replacement, while adding badly needed right-handed pop that will take an even bigger hit assuming the latter departs.