The Boston Red Sox don’t sound scared about potentially losing Alex Bregman, but they should be. Bregman holds all the power. He constructed his contract so that he has opt-outs ahead of each year of his contract for the next two years. One good thing that could come from trading Rafael Devers is freeing up more space for the two sides to negotiate.
Then again, according to Sean McAdam of Mass Live, the Red Sox have doubled down on their winning mentality. While Jim Bowden of The Athletic suggested that Boston could trade Bregman if an extension isn't reached before the trade deadline, the Red Sox insider pushed back on that and, frankly, don't seem too urgent to try and work out a deal with Bregman as talks to this point were described as "casual".
McAdam added that the Red Sox are focused on the draft and deadline moves amid casual extension talks with Bregman. However, the subtext of that, especially with pushes other national insiders indicating that the All-Star third baseman wants to stay in Boston, is that the Red Sox might feel confident they can make that happen — and continue to make winning moves around Bregman at the trade deadline and beyond.
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Red Sox still need to solidify winning moves to regain trust of the fans
The Red Sox have finally turned things around, winning the last six games and sitting four games above .500, tied for a Wild Card spot in the American league. But we’ve been here before. Boston has teetered around .500 essentially all season and what they do at the trade deadline will either make them serious wild card contenders or make them postseason pretenders.
If there’s one thing they’ve learned through their rough patch and then turning things around, it’s that they have to retain Bregman at all costs. Maybe Craig Breslow was right that this team can now win without Devers as a distraction. But they still have work to do.
Boston has seen the benefit of both sides of investing in their talented youth while also adding quality veterans around Bregman. They’ve seen what patience with their young core can do. Now that all three are up on the MLB squad — save for Kristian Campbell, who's back in Triple-A making tweaks and getting more work — they can truly develop them and prepare them for long careers in Boston. But is it enough to simply wait on them and whatever other prospects they collect in the MLB Draft?
There have been spots in the Red Sox lineup this season where it seemed like they were unprepared. The Triston Casas injury exposed the lack of depth organizationally at first base. Additions like Walker Buehler haven't gone to plan. However, solidifying some of these holes, most likely in the rotation and bullpen, would go a long way to rectifying that. Not only would that keep them competitive, but it will also take less pressure off Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Campbell.
The goal should be to develop their young core while remaining competitive. Anything less than a productive trade deadline would mean the Red Sox weren’t ever serious about winning; whether they bring Bregman back or not.