The Boston Red Sox are now without Alex Bregman after the veteran infielder left to sign with the Chicago Cubs. MLB.com reported on Jan. 10, citing multiple sources, that Bregman signed a five-year contract worth $175 million.
With Bregman gone, the Red Sox need to turn to Plan B, and the other infielder on the market is Bo Bichette. While the free-agent hitter is young and has shown he can play in big games like the World Series, WEEI’s Rob Bradford questions whether Boston will meet the player’s demands.
“This was Plan A, with the backup plan being a little bit uncomfortable,” Bradford said about the Red Sox losing Bregman in a video posted on X on Jan. 11. “There was a reason why Alex Bregman was the Plan A, because just like last year, he checked off a ton of boxes.
“There was a reason he was that guy. Now you’re left with chasing the Bo Bichette market, which is uncomfortable for a lot of reasons, and gets you in a world that you certainly won’t be comfortable with, it seems.”
Do the Red Sox Want to Get Uncomfortable in Free Agency?
Moreover, Bradford went into detail regarding the uncertainty the Red Sox find themselves in. Boston have two options: Either go the trade route and give up more prospects from their farm system, which they have already done with the trades of Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, or, as Bradford said, get uncomfortable in the free-agent market.
“The alternative to Alex Bregman is not a simple solution,” Bradford added. “I don’t think they want to keep trading players to find the guy who Alex Bregman was going to be, and that’s the problem, too. Yeah, this contract might age poorly. Welcome to the world of free agency.
“I mean, this is just how it works. I’ll come back to it. If you are going to dive into these waters, you have to understand how deep it is. You just have to. You cannot just set models, you can’t set market price, you can’t set, ‘Hey, we can’t go to these levels.'”
Cubs Were All In on Signing Alex Bregman
Meanwhile, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden believes the Cubs were willing to meet all of Bregman’s demands because, like the Red Sox, the veteran checked off all the boxes for them.
“When you and I were talking to Craig Counsell, the manager of the Cubs, on MLB Network Radio, live at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida, this past year, he gave us the impression, without saying it, the importance of signing a player like Bregman because of the leadership qualities that the Cubs needed,” Bowden said on Jan. 11 in a video posted by MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM.
“I heard that, and I looked him in the eyes. It was very clear to me that that was their guy. That’s what they wanted to get. That’s what they wanted to get, and I think when you put Bregman and [Dansby] Swanson leading your clubhouse, those intangibles are… It’s special because it’s going to help all the other guys develop around them. But now we have an elite defensive team. Starting pitching is better.”
Red Sox Get Troubling Bo Bichette Message From Insider