The consensus is that Boston Red Sox fans will blow a fuse if the team is unable to re-sign Alex Bregman in free agency and bids farewell to two All-Star third basemen within less than a year. However, there is one way management can appease its legions of loyal yet anxious supporters in the event that Bregman lands elsewhere: add a big bat. If ownership wants to make a splash, two sluggers jump out as logical targets.
Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso each mean a great deal to their respective franchises and fan bases, but under the right circumstances, the Red Sox could potentially scoop one of them off the open market this winter. MassLive.com reporter Chris Cotillo can see a scenario in which Boston moves on from designated hitter Masataka Yoshida and fills the void with either Schwarber or Alonso.
Pursuing those veterans would be mighty costly, to be clear, but it could bring the team closer to another World Series championship.
“{Manager Alex Cora} has been clear about his admiration for Schwarber, who the Red Sox love, and if a quick reunion with the Phillies doesn’t come together, expect Boston to show some real interest there,” Cotillo writes. “Doing so might force the club to spend something close to $50 million — yes, you read that right — on its DH spot between a Schwarber average annual value around $30 million and Yoshida’s sunk cost at $18 million.
“That, however, is what big-market, win-now teams do. Alonso fits the club as a DH much better than he does as a first baseman, where his defense is more than suspect.”
Should Red Sox go all in on Schwarber or Alonso?
Kyle Schwarber is expected to finish second in MVP voting after recording an National League-best 56 home runs and MLB-best 132 RBIs this season. Besides what the Philadelphia Phillies star has accomplished at the plate, there is also built-in rapport with the Sox. He helped Boston advance to the playoffs after joining the team ahead of the 2021 trade deadline, slashing .291/.435/.522/.957 in 41 regular season games.
The 32-year-old left-handed hitter remains a homer-heavy, low-batting-average guy who will enjoy glorious highs and rough lows over the course of a campaign. There are risks, but Schwarber can add a power boost that the squad was lacking after sending Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in June.
Pete Alonso can also provide that service. The New York Mets' all-time home run leader is fairly consistent from a slugging perspective and rarely misses time due to injury. Furthermore, he is coming off a stellar campaign in which he hit .272 with 38 dingers, 126 RBIs and 41 doubles. The Polar Bear may want more years than Boston brass is willing to commit to him in a potential contract, however.
There is another key factor that could complicate a possible union with either Schwarber or Alonso. Despite ongoing trade rumors, the Red Sox could decide to retain homegrown talent Jarren Duran and move him into the DH slot for the foreseeable future. Such a development would make it less practical to sign one of the aforementioned defensively-limited free agents.
Fans should brace themselves for both big additions and subtractions this offseason. Change seems inevitable.
