With just about a month until pitchers and catchers are set to report to spring training, the Boston Red Sox still haven't added a much-needed righty bat to their lineup.
After Teoscar Hernández re-signed with the Dodgers (for a price Boston could've beaten,) Alex Bregman became the clear best option for the Sox's needs. He's a veteran with a gritty presence at the plate, a right-handed hitter and a Gold Glove-winning infielder. Bregman also has a history with Boston's skipper, Alex Cora, who has advocated for his signing plenty of times.
Still, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on Jan. 10 that Boston is playing the waiting game with the third baseman. He — and Red Sox Nation — can't explain why that might be the case.
"The Boston Red Sox’s seeming resistance to Alex Bregman makes sense only if the team is playing a game of chicken with agent Scott Boras, believing Bregman won’t go to Toronto and the Detroit Tigers won’t pay him," Rosenthal wrote.
A number of bad deals have made the @RedSox wary of another bad contract, says @Ken_Rosenthal pic.twitter.com/dzQj5eVGkr
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 10, 2025
While it's true that the Tigers aren't big spenders and the Blue Jays haven't been able to secure a major free agent in years, the Red Sox shouldn't push their luck. Boston has been incredibly successful since John Henry purchased the team in 2002, and its four World Series titles are the most won by any team since the year 2000, but the Red Sox haven't actually tried to field a good team since 2018 or earlier. Nothing about their offseason pursuits suggests they're trying their best right now, either.
Bregman's market is small — as Rosenthal said, it appears to be just the Sox, Jays, and Tigers as of this writing — but the longer the teams in the race wait, another could enter the mix and sign the third baseman from under Boston's feet. The Diamondbacks pulled off a surprise signing of Corbin Burnes, and nothing is stopping another team from doing the same with Bregman. The Yankees, for instance, could still sign an infielder to replace Gleyber Torres at second base, and Bregman is open to a position change.
Ken Rosenthal (justifiably) roasts Red Sox for lame pursuit of Alex Bregman, lack of offseason spending
Rosenthal called out the Red Sox for their limited offseason budget, which has become a pattern in recent offseasons. Boston has never won a World Series without a payroll that ranked in the top four in MLB, and given that the three most expensive teams in the league last season made it to the NLCS (Mets) and the World Series (Yankees, Dodgers), its chances of seeing the postseason with a small budget are slim to none. Despite promises that money would be no object this winter and that the Sox are prepared to go over the CBT to field a winning team, they're being outspent by the A's, who will play in a Triple-A ballpark in 2025.
Rosenthal said, "A Boston Tea Party-type anger would be fitting" from Sox fans after this winter's performance. And if Boston whiffs on Bregman, it'll be very much deserved. The Red Sox's fear of spending money on a potentially risky deal — which, in baseball, is all deals — has them careening toward irrelevance in a division that is completely up for grabs.
The Sox's willingness to commit to the unknown rather than experienced players is perplexing, to say the least. Patrick Sandoval is recovering from Tommy John surgery and may not pitch until the second half of the season, if at all, in 2025. Lucas Giolito was a comeback case last year and his missed 2024 season makes him an even riskier investment. Walker Buehler only pitched 75.1 innings in his final campaign with the Dodgers. Garrett Crochet has only been a starter for one season. Boston paid Masataka Yoshida, who had never played a game in MLB, $90 million two winters ago. Their hesitation to sign a two-time World Series champion and Gold Glove infielder to help guide them all is inexplicable and, after missing the playoffs for three straight seasons, inexcusable.