Over President's Day weekend, the Boston Red Sox found themselves embroiled in another front office/public relations disaster when team CEO and President Sam Kennedy said during a press conference: "If Alex Bregman wanted to be here, ultimately, he’d be here.”
Bregman was Boston's free agent whiff for the ages, especially after it traded Rafael Devers to accommodate him at third base in 2025 and the future. Not only did Bregman clearly want to return to the Red Sox (his insistence on a no-trade clause shows he never wanted to leave) but Red Sox players have been open about the impact he had on them.
Roman Anthony has been at the forefront of those conversations, so much so that he's relishing any chance to play with the third baseman again. He'll have the chance to do so in the upcoming World Baseball Classic — he was given Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll's roster spot after he underwent surgery to repair his hamate bone.
"[Bregman] reached out when it happened and we talked over the phone. He wanted to see where I was at and just kind of check in," Anthony said. "Obviously, it'll be a great opportunity to take the field with him again."
Red Sox's Roman Anthony, Alex Bregman clearly wanted to continue playing together based on World Baseball Classic reports
Bregman seems just as excited about playing with Anthony, as well. Mark DeRosa, the manager of Team USA, said Bregman was pulling for Anthony "out of the gate" to fill the roster vacancy created by Carroll's injury (via Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe, subscription required).
Bregman is officially in the Red Sox's past after he signed his five-year deal with the Chicago Cubs in mid-January, but he and Anthony clearly had a special relationship. Bregman's years of experience and two World Series titles make him an exceptional player to learn from, and he must see Anthony —— as do countless other baseball minds — as a special talent.
Boston's young players and fans grew attached to Bregman after his first year with the Sox and it seems he felt the same about the city and the team. Kennedy's assertion that Bregman would be a Red Sox if he wanted to be was clearly poorly thought out (or not thought out at all) and he's already tried (and failed) to take it back.
The Red Sox and Bregman belonged together for more reasons than one, but his early impact on the club's young players should have been more than enough to convince the front office to do all it could to bring him back for the rest of his career (or much of it). At least Anthony will have a chance to absorb more of Bregman's wisdom during the WBC, but not all of Boston's young players will get the same experience