This winter, the Boston Red Sox have made significant moves to shore up their pitching staff, signing former Chicago White Sox lefty ace Garrett Crochet and Los Angeles Dodgers World Series hero Walker Buehler.
What they haven’t done is improve their offense.
The Red Sox are still looking for a right-handed bat to “balance out the lineup,” according to Boston’s chief of baseball operations Craig Breslow. However, they have failed to find one, despite the fact that longstanding Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman remains available and unsigned.
In early December, longtime Boston baseball writer Sean McAdam reported that the Red Sox had a “strong interest” in Bregman, but their efforts were hampered not by Bregman’s demands, but by the team’s own “internal division” over whether the 30-year-old Astros 2015 first round draft pick (second overall) was the right fit for the Red Sox.
“Boston’s pursuit, according to an industry source, is somewhat complicated by some internal disagreement over Bregman,” McAdam said at the time. “While manager Alex Cora and team president Sam Kennedy are known to be big proponents of Bregman, the source said some members of the baseball operations staff, including chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, are more circumspect when it comes to the player.”
Astros Interest in Keeping Bregman Has Fizzled
Bregman had also been negotiating with the Astros, the franchise that selected him and for whom he played a significant role in winning two World Series championships in 2017 and 2022. However, according to Houston sports anchor and writer Ari Alexander of KPRC TV, those conversations have halted.
When the Astros signed former Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker to a three-year, $60 million contract shortly before Christmas, after previously acquiring third baseman Isaac Paredes from the Chicago Cubs, Alexander argued that it “signaled the end of the Alex Bregman era” in Houston.
However, when one period ends, another may arise — at least possibly. According to a “league source” who talked with Alexander, with the Astros seemingly out of the picture, there is now “a very, very real possibility” that Bregman may join the Red Sox.
The source reportedly mentioned two more teams that have “a very, very real possibility” of signing Bregman. These are the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays. However, there are issues with both of these groups.
Red Sox Now Appear Most Likely Landing For Former Astro
“Sources within the industry question if the Tigers are willing to give out a long-term contract like the one Bregman would want, given the team’s current low payroll and the result of the last long-term contract they gave out: a six-year, $140 million deal with Javier Baez, that has so far been a massive bust,” according to Alexander.
According to the KPRC anchor, the Blue Jays “would be able to financially handle the kind of contract Bregman is said to desire but have yet to land a major free agent this offseason, despite interest in players like Juan Soto and Corbin Burnes.”
That leaves the Red Sox to deal with the issue of Rafael Devers, who is now playing third base for the Red Sox on an 11-year, $331 million contract, the largest ever given out by the team.
According to McAdam, Bregman has primarily played third base in the big leagues and won a Gold Glove in 2024, but the Red Sox plan to use him at second base.Bregman has publicly said that he is open to a position change.
