Alex Bregman, Boston Red Sox?
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Sox are reportedly among the finalists to acquire the former All-Star slugger and third baseman’s services. The other teams they’re contending with? The Mets, the Yankees and Tigers, among others.
Again, stop me if you’ve heard that before…
Bregman is no Juan Soto, but with Soto off the board, he might be the next best thing. That creates a bump in interest and, ultimately, market value for a player in Bregman who would be a nice addition to any contender’s lineup.
What should we make of this news? Like Soto, not much until the Sox actually sign him. The Sox are in desperate need of a right-handed power bat and Bregman is one of the few top names left on the market who fit the billing.
Bregman coming to Boston would also represent a homecoming of sorts after the Sox originally drafted him way back in 2012 as a 29th-round pick out of Albuquerque Academy. Bregman, of course, didn’t sign and wound up being drafted by Houston three years later…
He’s a player the Sox liked once before, and for good reason. He turned into an anchor in the lineup for two World Series-winning Astros teams.
In 21 career games, Alex Bregman is slashing .375/.490/.750/1.240 with 9 doubles, 7 HR, and 17 BB/17 K in Fenway Park.
— G.G. (@ggeiss_mlb) December 9, 2024
Just saying. 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/noWsJA2Ff8
My two cents? I like the fit for multiple reasons. Not only has Bregman shown a propensity for balling out against the Red Sox (his .325 career average in 41 games versus Boston is his highest against any opponent with at least 15 appearances) and at their home ballpark (Bregman’s .375 average at Fenway is outdone only by his literal ballpark record 1.240 OPS for players with at least 95 plate appearances).
Bregman has remained consistent as he enters the back nine of his career. Last year, his age 30 season, he slashed .260/.315/.453 with 26 homers and 75 RBIs in 145 games. Despite needing offseason elbow surgery, Bregman has remained a consistent presence in recent years while averaging 154 games over the last three seasons. And he secured his first career Gold Glove last season, to boot…
I wouldn’t expect Bregman to come in and become Boston’s best hitter, but he would be a nice supplement to Rafael Devers and a maturing cast of promising young hitters in the lineup.
Now, as for the price, Bregman is expected to command somewhere in the ballpark of $170 million (that’s more like it, isn’t it John Henry?) over seven years. That comes in under $25 million per year in terms of AAV. It’s a reasonable contract by today’s standards, no doubt.
Yes, the Sox have committed to Rafael Devers at third base, but Bregman is the kind of player you find a spot in your lineup for. Whether that’s moving him to designated hitter or teaching him first base after a potential Triston Casas trade, it doesn’t really matter to me.
At the end of the day, you need a power bat and he’s an available one. You’ve got to spend money to make money (and win ballgames). Just get the job done…
Surprise, surprise
Tyler O’Neill inked himself a nice little deal with Baltimore, but he still had some parting shots of sorts for the Red Sox…
Speaking to Audacy's “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast, the former Sox slugger admitted he was taken aback by Boston’s lack of interest in bringing him back, saying “I was surprised in the lack of interest.”
The Orioles are signing Tyler O'Neill to a 3-year, $49.5M deal with an opt-out after the 2025 season, per multiple sources pic.twitter.com/cbkBxueLlK
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 8, 2024
O’Neill added “Bres and Company made it known they were interested in me, but where I fell in the pecking order I have no idea. I don't know if I was second or fourth or fifth or whatever they looked like.”
While he conceded that the Sox giving priority to signing Soto over him made sense, I’m not sure what there really is to be surprised about here, Tyler.
Yeah, you hit a good chunk of home runs last season (31 to be exact), but beyond the long ball, you weren’t particularly productive — or reliable. O’Neill only played in 113 games — which, by his standard, is actually a lot — and he drove in just 61 runs while hitting in the low .240s.
That lack of production is part of the reason why O’Neill only drew a deal with an AAV of $16.5 million. To put that in perspective, it’s projected to be about $10 million less per year than what Bregman — who hit five fewer homers —- is going to net.
Sorry, Tyler, but your hollow power numbers just didn’t justify a return. The Sox missed the playoffs with you anyway. Why should they bring you back on a multi-year deal on the other side of 30?
Pivett(n)a(h)
Speaking of players on the wrong side of 30 that the Sox shouldn’t bring back…
If bringing back Tyler O’Neill was to be an exercise in futility, it would be tenfold to do the same thing with Nick Pivetta.
Apparently, even though Pivetta did the Sox a big favor by turning down a pretty solid qualifying offer, there is still a sentiment among the team that they like Pivetta and wouldn’t mind seeing him return.
“(The Red Sox) still like Nick Pivetta, there’s no doubt about that. You ask up and down that organization, they very much still like Nick Pivetta.”
— Boston Sports Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) December 17, 2024
- @TomCaron (via 310 to Left) pic.twitter.com/J8cQAxjxtH
My question… why?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Nick Pivetta belongs in a big-league rotation. Yet his career-long battle with inconsistency makes him too much of a variable to be depended upon as someone you invest north of $20 million annually on.
At his best, he’s got top-two starter stuff. At his worst, he’s a solid No. 5. That averages out to about a No. 3 starter. The Sox have him plenty of leash and tried every which way to get the most out of him, be it in the rotation or the bullpen.
Pivetta is what he is at this point. There is no ceiling. And what Pivetta is, to me, is a bad fallback option. I’d rather John Henry eat the money (and I’m sure he’s good with that too…) than throw it at Pivetta in a panic move if they strike out on the remaining top tier starters.
The guy just isn’t a good fit here for multiple reasons. The money, the mindset — although he did seem better to deal with last season than he has in the past, so maybe he’s growing. But the guy does not seem like a great fit for pitching in this market.
Bringing back Pivetta would be a fail in my book when there were so many better options out there. Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that…