Credit to Boston Red Sox lead baseball executive Chaim Bloom, both for identifying the team’s needs and for striking aggressively to solve those problems. Bloom wanted proven starting pitchers, and he landed St. Louis Cardinals veteran Sonny Gray before adding the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Johan Oviedo. The Red Sox have long had a first base problem, and they hope that the Cardinals’ Willson Contreras can provide the impact bat needed.
However, Bloom’s work is far from done, and what has already been a productive offseason runs the risk of still earning a failing grade. As drastic as that sounds, such is the reality when third baseman Alex Bregman remains unsigned ahead of the new year.
Alex Bregman is the key to a successful Boston Red Sox offseason
If 'winning the offseason' was truly a thing, the New York Jets would have a trophy case longer than the Brooklyn Bridge. You can’t talk about any sport, even college athletics, without the old cliche about offseason winners and losers. We’re guilty of it!
However, we can say that a team earned a passing or failing grade based on how they addressed their needs. Let’s use the Philadelphia Phillies as an example. If the Phillies lost Kyle Schwarber but signed Cody Bellinger, we wouldn’t have given the Phillies an “F.” They needed to ensure that they had a premium power bat in next year’s lineup, and Schwarber obviously fits the bill. Of course, we’ll determine later whether they won the signing itself, but we’re focusing on the offseason part.
So, yes, Breslow currently has a passing grade … and the keyword is 'currently.' The Red Sox cannot risk losing Bregman, who still ranks among the league’s top third basemen and repeatedly earned rave reviews for the impact he brought to the clubhouse. That is precisely the type of player you want on a team that is not only fresh off a postseason berth, but that still needs to contend with the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees in the AL East.
Willson Contreras can only do so much for the Boston Red Sox
Saying that Breslow would fail the offseason if he loses Bregman is admittedly harsh, and none of this is a knock on Contreras. Although the veteran slugger is entering his age-34 season, Contreras had a .791 OPS and 52 extra-base hits (20 home runs, 31 doubles, and a triple) over 560 plate appearances. That’ll do well in Boston, especially as a right-handed hitter with the Green Monster.
Bregman is not Aaron Judge, and not only because Judge is a generational home run talent. If the Yankees lost Judge to a season-ending knee injury in March, their entire season would also suddenly be at risk. If the Red Sox lost Bregman to a season-ending knee injury in March, they could attempt to weather that storm because he’s not the perennial MVP candidate that Judge is. (And, also, the Red Sox are a deeper team with a better manager, but that’s neither here nor there.)
Are the Red Sox a better team on paper than the squad that lost to the Yankees in the Wild Card Series? Absolutely. Can they make the playoffs next year without Bregman? Sure. Do we believe that the Red Sox have a better chance to win the World Series if Bregman is manning the hot corner? Yes, yes, and more yes.
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