The Boston Red Sox's offense remains unimproved with two weeks until pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
Sure, the roster will have a few more right-handed hitters than last year with the returns of Trevor Story and Vaughn Grissom (hopefully) and the debut of Kristian Campbell. But Story hasn't played anything close to a full season since his final season in Colorado in 2021, Grissom has only appeared in 95 major league games and Campbell is unproven against big league pitching.
The Red Sox have long been linked to Alex Bregman to resolve their offensive deficiencies — he's a proven right-handed bat, usually with a high on-base percentage, with a history of success at Fenway Park and rock-solid infield defense. But he demands more money than Boston is willing to spend, which shouldn't be an excuse after missing the playoffs in five of the last six seasons and not posting a winning record in three years.
Even without Bregman, Boston needs to reinforce its offense. The Red Sox and Cardinals have been linked as potential trade partners in a deal that would send Nolan Arenado to Boston as St. Louis hopes to offload payroll. ESPN's Jesse Rogers believes the two sides will finally make the trade, as the Sox's chances to land Bregman seem slimmer by the day.
ESPN predicts Red Sox will trade for Nolan Arenado as Alex Bregman consolation prize
Arenado isn't the best fit in Boston and his offensive production has been lower than fans have come to expect of him in recent seasons. 2024 was the first season in the veteran's career in which he didn't receive any accolades — no All-Star nomination, Gold Glove, or MVP consideration.
Arenado would be limited to playing at third or first base in Boston, while Bregman said he's open to playing at second base, one of the Sox's most needed positions since Dustin Pedroia's last full season. Signing Bregman and putting him at second could leave the rest of the Red Sox's infield configuration intact, with Rafael Devers at third and Triston Casas at first. Trading for Arenado would require much more adjustment of Boston's infield lineup.
"There's a lot of things to get there, and a lot of 'ifs'. But, [Nolan] Arenado would make an intriguing fit there in Boston."@RoFlo and Harold discuss the Red Sox reportedly being “a preferred destination” for the star third basemen. #MLBNHotStove pic.twitter.com/b7BqCqvU4M
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 6, 2025
The Red Sox also have no excuse to make another trade. The front office attested that it was willing to spend and "get uncomfortable" to improve the team this winter, and selling the prospects it promised to build a competitive team around is not the way to do it. Many of the proposed trade packages for Arenado are unpopular, as well, and rumors that Casas may be shipped to St. Louis to land him have been far from well-received. Boston sits $32 million below the first competitive balance tax threshold (CBT) as of Jan. 27, which is plenty of money to sign Bregman or another capable righty bat without selling valuable young talent.
If the Red Sox attempted to sign Teoscar Hernández or Anthony Santander, who could fill Tyler O'Neill's exact role with last season's squad with even more pop for less time and money than Bregman demands, they wouldn't be in this mess. Instead, their hesitancy on the free agent market will come back to bite them after they're forced to make an unpopular choice to meet their end-of-season promises.