The Boston Red Sox can now shift their offseason focus.
To this point, everything has been centered on the need for starting pitching, and with good reason. But now that the Red Sox have traded for Garrett Crochet and signed Walker Buehler, they can turn their attention to fixing up the lineup.
It was always obvious that the Red Sox needed more right-handed hitting, and that need was exacerbated when home run leader Tyler O’Neill signed with the Baltimore Orioles. Now, Boston can go full-bore in their pursuit of a new righty slugger.
Alex Bregman, the longtime third baseman for the Houston Astros, has often been speculated as a fit for Boston this winter. Though the Red Sox would either have to shift Bregman to third base or move Rafael Devers and trade someone else, there’s no denying that he’s a righty bat who would improve the lineup in the short term.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic evidently sees the Red Sox figuring out the fit with Bregman. The MLB insider predicted on Monday that Bregman would head to Boston this winter.
“It’s just a guess, but I’ll go with… the Red Sox for Bregman,” Bowden said.
Bregman might not be a perfect fit based on how the Red Sox’s current roster looks, but it’s hard to deny the potential he has at Fenway Park. According to ESPN’s David Schoenfield, Bregman owns the highest OPS ever at Fenway (1.240) among all hitters ever with at least 95 plate appearances there.
Working out a contract for Bregman will be a challenge as well, as Bowden himself projected a seven-year, $185.5 million deal for the Gold Glover earlier this offseason. The Red Sox haven’t spent that much on a single free agent since the $217 million deal for David Price nine years ago.
Will Boston finally open their wallets back up for Bregman? Only time will tell, and the answer could come any day not at this point.
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