The Boston Red Sox have a huge void to fill at third base in the offseason with Alex Bregman set to test free agency this winter.
Bregman, who is projected to sign a $182 million contract this winter, appears open to coming back to Boston if the organization provides him with the long-term contract he is seeking. However, the Red Sox have to be prepared if Bregman gets a better offer elsewhere.
If Boston has to go in a different direction, the team has the choice of adding via free agency or trade. If the team chooses to go the trade route, there will be a few options on the table. According to Kerry Miller, the Red Sox could choose to pursue Junior Caminero from the Tampa Bay Rays.

“They could re-sign Bregman,” Miller wrote for Bleacher Report. “They could also let it ride with some combination of Marcelo Mayer, Nate Eaton and Nick Sogard at the hot corner. But Caminero darn near hit as many home runs as Boston’s top two sluggers combined—Trevor Story and Wilyer Abreu had a total of 47—and he would cost them a combined sum of, roughly, $1.7 million over his next two years of pre-arbitration.”
Here is the full breakdown of Miller’s projected trade:
- Boston Red Sox acquire: 3B Junior Caminero
- Tampa Bay Rays acquire: SS Franklin Arias, LHP Payton Tolle, OF Jhostynxon Garcia and RHP Kyson Witherspoon
“The Boston Red Sox have four players ranked in the top 100 of MLB.com’s pipeline, and yes, this is all four of them,” added Miller. “Both Tolle and Garcia made their MLB debuts this season, Witherspoon was their first-round pick this past summer, and Arias is the highest-rated prospect of the bunch at No. 24 overall. … It would be an expensive trade as far as prospects go, but it’s at least financially a preposterously cheap solution to arguably their biggest 2026 need. That would enable them to spend big elsewhere on a first baseman or a co-ace to pair with Garrett Crochet. …. And for as good as Caminero was this past season, it might be worth turning him into two promising arms, a potential 30 HR outfielder and a middle infielder who could replace Brandon Lowe after next season.”
The Red Sox would benefit from not having to spend a lot of money if they added Caminero, but the farm system would take a big toll. However, Boston’s pursuit of a championship should supersede the idea of holding onto prospects. The Rays would certainly benefit from getting plenty of young talent to either start on the opening day roster or be called up to the big leagues shortly after the season begins.