After missing out on multiple free-agent targets, the Boston Red Sox are adding a big bat via trade.
Boston is set to acquire first baseman Willson Contreras from the St. Louis Cardinals for a package that includes right-hander Hunter Dobbins, according to ESPN.
Minor-league right-handers Yhoiker Fajardo and RHP Blake Aita are reportedly also going to St. Louis.
Contreras, 33, hit .257 with 20 home runs, 80 RBI and a .791 OPS last season.
The three-time All-Star became a full-time first baseman in 2025 after spending his first nine MLB seasons as a catcher.
Contreras adds right-handed pop to a Red Sox lineup that was largely left-handed last season. Third baseman Alex Bregman, who also bats right-handed, opted out of his contract and is currently a free agent, though a return to Boston remains possible.
Earlier in the offseason, Boston was linked to designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, who returned to Philadelphia, and first baseman Pete Alonso, who signed with Baltimore.
St. Louis is reportedly sending $8 million to the Red Sox to help cover part of Contreras’ contract, which has two years and $42.5 million remaining.
Dobbins went 4-1 with a 4.13 ERA as a rookie in 2025 before he suffered a season-ending ACL tear. Fajardo was Boston’s No. 23 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
This is the second trade between the Red Sox and the rebuilding Cardinals this offseason, as St. Louis sent right-handed starter Sonny Gray to Boston last month.
Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom was the Red Sox’s chief baseball officer from 2020-23.
Boston is trying to build on a 2025 season in which it went 89-73 and finished third in the American League East. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox in three games in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
