Isaac Paredes Won’t Win Headlines, But He Might Fix The Boston Red Sox Offseason

The Red Sox have spent most of this winter projecting comfort.

Comfort with their pitching depth. Comfort with the outfield mix. Comfort with the idea that internal growth can smooth over the loss of Alex Bregman.

But the longer the offseason drags on, the more obvious it becomes that there’s still an unresolved tension sitting in the middle of the roster - and that’s why the reported conversations with the Astros about Isaac Paredes feel significant.

This isn’t about chasing a star. It’s about acknowledging a specific roster flaw and targeting a player whose skill set fits it almost too cleanly.

Paredes isn’t a household name, and that’s part of the appeal. His value lives in the margins teams actually win with. He brings legitimate right-handed power - 20 homers from a third base bat matters, even in an era where power is everywhere - but it’s the on-base ability that really stabilizes things. A .352 OBP in 2025 isn’t flashy, but it’s the kind of number that lengthens a lineup and makes the hitters around him better.

That profile fits Boston’s current construction.

The Red Sox don’t need another all-or-nothing slugger. They need someone who can grind out at-bats, punish mistakes, and keep innings alive in the middle third of the order. Paredes checks those boxes without asking the lineup to be reimagined around him.

There’s also the practicality of it.

Unlike some of the bigger names floated earlier in the winter, Paredes is under club control beyond 2025. At 26 years old, he fits neatly into the age curve the Red Sox have prioritized - young enough to grow with the core, old enough to be reliable.

If the front office ever decided to explore an extension, it wouldn’t come with the same long-term anxiety attached to players on the wrong side of 30 (cue the eye roll).

Defensively, Paredes is steady if unspectacular at third base. He’s not winning Gold Gloves, but he’s not costing you games, either. And for a team trying to replace Bregman’s overall impact rather than his exact skill set, that matters. Boston doesn’t need perfection at the hot corner. It needs competence paired with offense.

The ripple effect of adding Paredes is where this really gets interesting.

Slot him in at third, and suddenly the rest of the infield looks more manageable. Marcelo Mayer doesn’t have to be rushed into a full-time role. Second base becomes a place for flexibility rather than anxiety. Trevor Story stays where he’s most comfortable. The dominoes fall in a way that makes sense.

That’s why the idea of pairing Paredes with the rest of Boston’s offseason work - namely, adding Ranger Suarez to the rotation - feels like a quiet but meaningful pivot.

Losing Bregman stung. But replacing him with a combination of Suarez’s stability and Paredes’ bat reframes the offseason as balance over star-chasing.

None of this happens without cost. Houston isn’t moving Paredes for spare parts, and Boston knows that. Jarren Duran’s name hovering around these discussions isn’t accidental. He’s the type of asset teams ask for when they’re giving up controllable, productive infield bats.

That’s the tension point.

How much is Boston willing to give up to solve this problem now?

According to multiple reports, the Red Sox aren’t pretending the problem doesn’t exist. They’re exploring realistic solutions - and Paredes represents exactly the kind of upside-and-practicality blend this roster needs.

He won’t win headlines. But if Boston is serious about turning this offseason from incomplete to coherent, he might be the move that finally makes everything else fit.

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Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.