In a recent episode of the Talkin' Baseball Podcast, the hosts speculated on whether or not the Alex Bregman signing has tipped the scales in favor of the Red Sox as possibly the best team in the American League.
Have the additions of Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, Bregman, and more vaulted the Red Sox past the Yankees in the race to the top of the AL East? Let's take a closer look.
The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have been battling for baseball supremacy since the beginning of last century. The Yankees dominated the 20th century, winning 26 World Series titles since trading for a portly lefty slugger some people may have heard of. The Red Sox famously failed to win a World Series title for 86 years beginning in 1918 and spent much of the 1900s playing second fiddle to the Yankees.
Since the turn of the century, however, the Red Sox have supplanted the Yankees in this rivalry, winning World Series titles in 2004, 2007, 2013, and again in 2018. The Yankees have won just once in the past 25 years, claiming the crown in 2009. The Yankees returned to the World Series last season for the first time since their latest title before falling to the Dodgers in five games. Meanwhile, the Red Sox failed to make the playoffs for the third straight season. This offseason, both teams have waged a head-to-head battle to claim another World Series crown.
Like Boston, the Yankees were hot after free-agent Juan Soto, who spent one glorious year in the Bronx. However, neither team earned the services of this winter's biggest free agent after losing out to the Mets' extremely deep pockets. Since then, both teams have been frantically piecing together more well-rounded teams, trying to take center stage in what is a wide-open American League.
Will the Red Sox be better than the Yankees after adding Alex Bregman? pic.twitter.com/Bpmid8OARw
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) February 13, 2025
The Red Sox first added a potential lefty stopper in former Yankee closer Aroldis Chapman. If he is used correctly and kept under 60 appearances, Chapman could be dynamic come playoff time. The Sox made the trade of the offseason, acquiring a potential ace in Crochet from the White Sox. A hard-throwing lefty facing the Yankees at the Stadium is a valuable commodity. Boston signed Walker Buehler away from the Dodgers, fresh off of his shutdown performance against New York in the World Series. Finally, the addition of Bregman right before spring training signals the Red Sox are in it for the long haul. Bregman brings 19 career postseason home runs and 99 games worth of postseason experience.
The Yankees did not sit idly by after losing out on Soto this offseason. One could argue that the Yankees have tried to put together a more well-rounded team after relying so heavily on Soto and AL MVP Aaron Judge last season. The Yankees started making moves when they signed former Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried to a long-term deal. They followed that by trading for top-flight closer Devon Williams from the Brewers for, among others, starter Nestor Cortes. Four days later, the Bombers made another trade, this time acquiring Cubs center fielder and former NL MVP Cody Bellinger for reliever Cody Poteet. The Yankees also added another bat, former NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt, to man first base. The Yankees now have a dominant closer to add to an already solid bullpen, a power hitter from the left side to replace some of the production of Soto. They added Goldschmidt to play first and he should be a slight upgrade over the oft-injured Anthony Rizzo, and an upgrade to the rotation going from Cortes to Fried.
A real Red Sox-Yankees rivalry could be back in 2025, and baseball will be better for it
Do we have a clear winner yet? Well, there is more to be done by both teams if they want to overtake some of the contenders in the AL, as well as the Dodgers, for best team in baseball. The Yankees need some help in the infield and perhaps the outfield, as well. As currently constituted, the Yankees will slide Jazz Chisholm over to second base to replace the departed Gleyber Torres. Torres has a solid postseason batting leadoff but Chisholm provides an upgrade with more power and speed. Third base, however, remains a source of concern. The Yankees currently have aging veteran DJ LeMahieu competing with Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza and Jorbit Vivas. This is not ideal for the Bombers.
In the outfield, the Yankees have Bellinger in center field, with Judge moving to right field and Jasson Domínguez and Trent Grisham possibly platooning in left field. The departed Alex Verdugo was a better fielder than both of these options, but Domínguez has a chance to be a big-time offense weapon. The Yankees certainly will take the upgrade of Fried over Cortes in the rotation, but they also need a repeat season from Carlos Rodón and Luis Gil and continued health from Gerrit Cole. The bullpen has improved with a clear closer in Williams, allowing postseason breakout star Luke Weaver to be more of a multi-inning reliever late in games.
For the Red Sox, they have improved their rotation with the additions of Buehler and Crochet along with the return of Lucas Giolito. Bregman gives them much-needed infield help and will allow them to use Devers in the designated hitter role more frequently this season. The bullpen also improved with the addition of Chapman in the seventh or eighth inning, the return of Liam Hendriks from injury, and the team's move of Garrett Whitlock back to the bullpen with his immense versatility and ability to get swings and misses.
Before we figure out who has won the offseason, one key piece could shift the balance of power. The Red Sox have begun kicking the tires on hard-throwing righty Dylan Cease from the Padres. If the Red Sox are interested, the Yankees will likely be as well. Cease can instantly make one of these teams the favorite in the AL East with his swing-and-miss stuff. The Red Sox may have the edge because they have more interesting chips to offer, not the least of which may be righty Brayan Bello. Some will be quick to suggest Kutter Crawford, but it's unlikely the Padres will bite on that. Bello is a costly trade, but he's under team control with the contract he signed last year and may be more what the Padres are looking for at this point. Cease is still just 29 years old and would give the Red Sox, arguably, the best rotation in the AL.
Spring training is here and the 2025 season is in view but, more importantly, baseball's best rivalry is back in full swing. Baseball is undeniably better when the Red Sox are battling. The years of 1978, 1999, 2003, and 2004 were some of the most heart-wrenching and entertaining in baseball history. Buckle up, baseball fans; this year could have that same magic.