Following the Red Sox‘s blockbuster trade that sent Rafael Devers from Boston off to the Giants in exchange for four players of still-indeterminate value, the pieces remaining to be cleared up were many. The team has been reset, and the struggling offense now looks a good bit worse than it did on Sunday.
There’s some hope that team chemistry might lighten up some without Devers, considering his unwillingness to move to designated hitter or, after that, to first base, was one of the gray clouds over the team throughout the first three months of this year. But there’s no guarantee on that, and besides which, chemistry does not hit home runs.
There are immediate considerations, like what, if anything, the Red Sox will do at next month’s MLB trade deadline, and whether the club can keep up its current five-game winning streak after dealing with so much tumult.
But there’s a long-term consideration here, too, and it stems, arguably, from the player who began this whole cycle: third baseman Alex Bregman, whose signing this offseason caused Boston to ask Devers to make way to begin with.
Red Sox Can Be Sure of an Opt-Out
Bregman is out with a hamstring injury, and has not played since May 23. There’s some hope that he is not too far off from a return, and he has said he thinks he can be on the field before the All-Star break. Bregman was hitting .299 when he was injured, with 11 homers in 51 games, and dropping him back into the middle of Boston’s batting order would help offset the loss of Devers.
But the problem with Bregman is that he has an option at the end of this season, allowing him to tear up the final two years and $80 million of his contract as he seeks a longer deal. While Bregman’s injury might have caused him to reconsider the option, the Devers trade, as insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote, will certainly ensure he pulls the trigger.
“Bregman will be back soon, you say?” he asked, rhetorically. “Yep, and the Sox can bank on him opting out at the end of the season. No problem, just give Bregman the money the Sox saved with Devers, right? That sound you hear is the cackling of Bregman’s agent, Scott Boras, who, according to unconfirmed reports, was last seen rolling on the floor in hysterics.”
Alex Bregman Improving
Of course, the Red Sox are in a better position now, financially, to bring back Bregman as their long-term third baseman. They’ve added a slugging prospect in the Devers deal, James Tibbs, who could eventually play first base. They’re in a position to be a much better defensive team for a long time.
But that will, in part, depend on their ability to keep Bregman, and his willingness to stay with the team.
First, they’ve got to get him back on the field. Bregman had an ultrasound last week.
“[It] showed that it was doing really well and healing the way we wanted it to,” Bregman told reporters. “So just continue the progression of getting stronger and picking up the running volume. It’s moving in the right direction.”
Red Sox Can ‘Bank’ on Big Alex Bregman Decision After Devers Trade