3 Xander Bogaerts replacements for Red Sox not named Trevor Story

3) Red Sox candidate to replace Xander Bogaerts: Amed Rosario

Cleveland Guardians infielder Amed Rosario is someone the team could be shopping this year. He already replaced Francisco Lindor in Cleveland. Why not do the same for Bogaerts in Boston?

Rosario actually showed a lot of improvement defensively last year, posting a 1.2 WAR. It’s possible this recently-turned 27-year-old just took a little longer to improve his glove.

Rosario is a good hitter whose biggest weakness is an inability to draw walks. His lifetime .308 OBP is unimpressive. It has held him back tremendously.

Why Rosario could make sense for the Red Sox is if they don’t want to spend a lot of money yet want a quality player. He is a free agent after the 2023 season. The big reason Cleveland could be looking to trade him is because his final year of arbitration could price him out of what the team would like to spend. They have plenty of other middle infield options, including Andres Gimenez who was an All-Star for the Guardians last season.

Less than one of the top free agents yet better than the older ones like Iglesias and Andrus, the Red Sox get a more capable player at shortstop. He’s even someone they can decide to hold onto for another season or two depending on what Mayer’s timeline looks like.

The decision to let Bogaerts walk should have the Red Sox planning to clear space for Mayer one day. Otherwise, all they’ll do until then is look for another Bogaerts. They already had him. They let him go.