Boston Red Sox veteran Alex Bregman is set to opt out of the final two years of his three-year, $120 million contract he signed back in February. It’s almost funny how the Red Sox had too many third basemen at the beginning of this season, and now they will have a flipped scenario this offseason. If Craig Breslow fails to meet Bregman’s desirable price, given how his free-agent value will be soaring, the Red Sox will have to move on and find someone just as dominating at third.

The Red Sox could revisit a name they were going gaga over during the last off-season. Yes, it’s St. Louis Cardinals’ $260 million star Nolan Arenado. It’s very likely that Arenado will once again emerge as a trade candidate this winter.

Turns out, he’s open to expanding the list of teams he’d waive his no-trade clause for. That shouldn’t be a problem for Boston since Arenado had already shown interest in waiving his no-trade clause to join them last off-season.

The 34-year-old Cardinals star isn’t the same hitter he once was during his prime years. He posted a career low. 237 batting average last season with a .666 OPS and just 12 home runs across 107 games.

Yet, he was consistently a strong defender. Most importantly, since he has only two years and $42 million left on his contract, trading for him should not cost much for the Red Sox.

Before Arenado emerged as a potential replacement for Bregman, it was Munetaka Murakami who many believed would fit in perfectly at third for Boston. As reported earlier by Dean Ciriaco, the Red Sox fully intend to meet with Murakami, as they view him as a veteran’s potential replacement.

The Japanese phenom is the face of the Yakult Swallows in Japan’s Central League and will make his way to Major League Baseball this winter. Now, if you wonder how aggressively the Red Sox will pursue Murakami or Arenado, it all really depends on whether they are willing to prioritize keeping Bregman.

Boston Red Sox’ next option for replacing Alex Bregman

If Alex Bregman departs the Red Sox in free agency, could Marcelo Mayer, who happens to be a natural shortstop, step up to fill the void at third base?

Apparently, it’s not that easy. Along with Alex Bregman, shortstop Trevor Story is also on the list of players who will opt out. If he does that, Marcelo Mayer would be his obvious successor.

Mayer would be a perfect fit to replace either Bregman’s or Story’s defensive production. However, replacing either’s offensive production would be tough at this point. He took care of third base remarkably when Bregman missed 43 games from back in May until July.

But let’s also not forget that Marcelo Mayer is just 22, and being an everyday player for the Red Sox would be a big commitment. He has only had 27 career plate appearances against left-handed pitchers.

Both Trevor Story and Alex Bregman provided everyday consistency during the season. While Bregman recorded an OPS over .800 against both lefties and righties this past season, Story had nearly similar production with just a nine-point difference in his OPS against lefties and righties. Now, the decision is up to the Red Sox.