Former Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman stayed on the free agent market much longer than anyone expected coming into this offseason. After spending most of his winter searching for a long-term deal, Bregman shockingly landed with the Boston Red Sox on a three-year deal for a jaw-dropping $120 million.
The Red Sox needed to add a middle-of-the-order bat and Bregman can most certainly provide that for manager Alex Cora. As beneficial as this will be for Boston in a stacked AL East division, Bregman's presence at Spring Training has resulted in a little bit of drama that should have been apparent in this signing.
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Where will Alex Bregman play for the Red Sox?
When the Red Sox were looking to add another bat this offseason, they were consistently linked to trade talks with the St. Louis Cardinals regarding Nolan Arenado. Aside from the amount of money Arenado is owed in the near future, this potential trade was less appealing because the Red Sox have their third baseman in all-star Rafael Devers.
Instead of making a deal with the Cardinals for Arenado, Craig Breslow decided to spend a lot of money on a free agent who has only ever played third base in his nine year career. The impression when this signing happened was that Devers would remain at the hot corner and Bregman would shift to second base. After all, that is what Alex Cora's vision was for Bregman earlier this offseason. Now as the season approaches, Cora has changed his tune.
When Cora was asked about what the Red Sox infield alignment will look like, he couldn't provide a depth chart. His response essentially proves he actually doesn't have a plan in place.
"We'll talk about that later on. Right now there's a lot of stuff going on as far as where we're going to be roster-wise. We'll make that decision when we have to make it," Cora said.
Devers has made his wish to stay at third base clear. Cora did also reiterate that he believes Bregman can be a gold-glove caliber second baseman but acknowledged he has no experience in that position at the big league level.
As the season approaches, it will be interesting to see how Cora manages the Red Sox infield and how teammates mesh with one another when it is inevitable that someone is going to have to play a new position in 2025.