Red Sox Trade Target is Former World Series MVP at Just 24-Years-Old originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
After a season that showed the Boston Red Sox can beat anyone on any night, but also lose to anyone on any night, it's safe to say changes are coming this offseason.
Much of this will depend on the front office and what they can do with Major League Baseball's potential lockout, though the Franklin Arias situation still needs to be figured out.
On top of that, the Red Sox could use another infielder, as they need more offensive production. One could argue that adding a player like Jeremy Pena would cause a logjam in the infield with Franklin Arias, Curtis Mead, and Trevor Story.
A lot of that depends on whether Arias gets called up, but the team would also have to figure out a few other things with the other two guys.
That doesn't mean Mead or Story would lose at-bats or playing time, since one of them could be the designated hitter.
Bleacher Report believes Pena could be a great addition for many reasons, but one key point I'm considering is that if Story returns to form, Mead does what everyone hopes for, and Arias makes his debut and contributes, adding another big-time bat like Pena could go a long way.
"Boston Red Sox: A Trade for a Middle Infielder," Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller wrote. "Prime Target: Houston's Jeremy Pena (arbitration-eligible in 2027, estimated at $13.1M).
“Though they have a potential star waiting in the wings in the form of top prospect Franklin Arias, the Red Sox got a whole lot of nothing from their 2B and SS spots in 2026. And because they rather expect Arias to be a key piece of the puzzle by no later than 2028, trading for a multi-year solution a la CJ Abrams, Zach Neto or Corey Seager probably isn't the route they want to go, if they can instead get one year of Pena at a not-too-exorbitant cost."
Reports indicate Pena is available this offseason, though until we see the Houston Astros make that decision, questions will remain.
He's coming off a season in which he hit the most home runs of his career, blasting 22. He only played in 112 games, which makes his home run numbers even more impressive.
He's not among the top 10 players in baseball, but you could argue Pena is elite, so adding a player of his caliber would be a wise decision for a team looking to win it all like the Red Sox.