The Boston Red Sox wasted little time making their first big move of the offseason, landing first baseman Jake Bauers on a four-year, $58 million deal, according to ESPN. The club has not announced the signing yet, but the fit is obvious: Boston needed thump, and Bauers just delivered the loudest season of his career.
Bauers, 31, came off a huge year with the World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers, putting together a .266/.389/.484 line with 26 home runs. That total more than doubled his previous career high of 12. He also earned NLCS MVP honors during Milwaukee’s title run after going 4 for 14 (.286) in the series and driving in seven runs in the four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
For a Red Sox lineup that struggled to generate power, this is a major injection. Boston finished with 163 home runs last season, the fifth fewest in baseball, and just three players - Wilyer Abreu, Willson Contreras and Jarren Duran - were responsible for 71 of them. With Bauers added, the lineup could take shape like this:
LF Roman Anthony, LHB
C Adley Rutschman, SHB
DH Jake Bauers, LHB
1B Willson Contreras, RHB
RF Wilyer Abreu, LHB
2B Curtis Mead, RHB
CF Ceddanne Rafaela, RHB
3B Caleb Durbin, RHB
SS Trevor Story, RHB
That alignment leaves Duran without a clear everyday spot, which makes a trade or even a non-tender more likely. It also keeps the door open for Franklin Arias, one of the top prospects in the minors, to push for the shortstop job early next season and challenge Story. POBO Craig Breslow recently said Story is not locked in as the team’s starting shortstop.
Bauers’ breakout season had already pushed him near the top of the market. He was ranked 12th among free agents this offseason and seventh among position players.
The appeal is easy to see: he finally matched the power that had long shown up in the underlying metrics. The source material points to a more open stance, plus moving back in the box and farther off the plate, as the changes that helped him see the ball better and get his bat into the hitting position on time more consistently.
There are still questions about his track record against lefties, and his defense can be shaky, but the production was real enough to make teams buy in.
The Brewers, meanwhile, had already extended Bauers the $23.15 million qualifying offer. Because the contract tops $50 million, Milwaukee will receive a 2027 compensation draft pick after the first round. Boston’s side of the deal comes with a cost, too: because the Red Sox paid the competitive balance tax, they will forfeit their second- and fifth-highest 2027 draft picks, along with $1 million in bonus pool money for the 2027 international signing period.
Milwaukee has options to cover the loss. Tyler Black and Andrew Vaughn could handle first base next season, while Andrew Fischer - the No. 20 overall pick in the 2025 draft - is viewed as the long-term answer there after slugging 48 home runs in the minors this summer and reaching Double-A. He is likely still a year away from the majors, though, and the Brewers could still add a stopgap first baseman if they are not convinced by Black.
Boston, at 87-75, finished as the second wild card team last season before getting swept by the rival New York Yankees in the Wild Card Series and scoring only two runs across the two games.
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