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The Boston Red Sox, for all intents and purposes, have had a decent offseason. They have made some big moves to reinforce their pitching staff, chief among them being a blockbuster trade with the Chicago White Sox for Garrett Crochet. While their lineup overachieved in 2024, there were some holes that needed to be filled. On Wednesday night, they added what could be the missing piece to the puzzle by signing former Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman.
After losing Tyler O'Neill to the Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox lefty-heavy lineup was even more reliant on that side of the plate as spring training approached. Signing a right-handed hitter who could ideally fill in at second base was Boston's biggest need heading into February, and in one fell swoop, they addressed it by signing Bregman to a three-year, $120 million contract that includes a pair of opt-out options.
Signing one player like Bregman may not seem like the biggest development for Boston. In reality, though, this deal is massive for a couple of different reasons, some of which extend beyond the impact he will hopefully make for the team on the field. Let's check out what those reasons are, and examine why Red Sox fans should be excited about their biggest signing of the offseason.
Why signing Alex Bregman is such a big move for the Red Sox
The Red Sox initially drafted Bregman in the 29th round of the 2012 MLB Draft, but he turned them down and went to play baseball at the collegiate level with the LSU Tigers. Three years later, he ended up being selected by the Houston Astros with the 2nd overall pick of the 2015 MLB Draft, before he eventually found his way to the majors in 2016.
Since then, Bregman has been one of the most consistent third basemen in the majors. He earned a pair of All-Star selections, a Gold Glove in 2024, and a Silver Slugger in 2019, when he finished second in the American League MVP race. Of course, he also won a pair of World Series titles with the Astros that were mired in controversy due to their sign-stealing scandal.
If you want to hold that against Bregman, it's worth remembering that Boston's manager, Alex Cora, was right there alongside him in Houston when this was taking place. And while Bregman isn't hitting 41 home runs and driving in 112 runs like he was during the best season of his career in 2019, he can still hit around .260 while smacking 25 homers and driving in 90 runs. That's precisely what Boston needs.
Bregman has raked throughout his career at Fenway Park, posting a .375 batting average and a 1.240 OPS. While Bregman benefited from the short porch at Daikin Park while in Houston, the friendly confines of his new home will help him as well. If anything, his homer total may slightly decline, but chances are it will only be because Bregman is smacking doubles off of the Green Monster.
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In the field, Bregman is a strong third baseman, but the plan is to move him to second base, which was the biggest hole on Boston's roster last season, while leaving Rafael Devers at third base. The Sox could conceivably move Devers to either first base or designated hitter, but both of those moves would result in Masataka Yoshida getting thrown into the outfield, which the team does not want to have to do.
If Yoshida gets traded, which seems unlikely at this point, then that would give Cora a bit more flexibility to tinker with what this team's defense looks like. Wherever Bregman ends up isn't going to be the problem; all eyes are going to remain on Devers, who is still a below-average defender at third base, even after making some strides over the past few seasons.
Perhaps the biggest storyline of this all, though, isn't even about Bregman's fit with the team. It's about Boston's front office and their ownership finally being willing to spend in free agency. After destroying their 2018 World Series team, the Red Sox have been stuck in a vicious cycle of mediocrity, aside from their fluke run to the ALCS in 2021. Now, they appear to be a team that is fully on the rise.
Additions to the pitching staff were the biggest need this offseason, but they managed to accomplish that without signing a big name in free agency. In order to fill in their lineup, they needed to go out and sign Bregman. They could have conceivably gone out and traded for Nolan Arenado off of the St. Louis Cardinals, but he can't play second base like Bregman, which would have led to the aforementioned defensive issues for Cora to sort through.
For the first time in years, the front office did what they needed to do, and went out and signed the big-name free agent they desperately needed. With a budding farm system, headlined by Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer, the Red Sox lineup is good for the present, and hopefully the future, with at least one of that trio expected to make the jump to the majors at some point this season.
With Boston acting like a big-market team for the first time in years, the sky's the limit for this squad. There's no doubt this deal is a bit of an overpay for Bregman, but these are the sorts of moves you almost have to make to become a contender in the MLB nowadays (just look at the Los Angeles Dodgers). There's still work to be done, but Alex Bregman's signing adds a level of excitement to this team that hasn't been seen in years, and here's hoping they can capitalize off it and emerge as a playoff contender once they take the field.
