Boston Red Sox fans are still nowhere near getting over the fact that Rafael Devers, the face of the franchise and one of the best hitters on the planet, was traded. If the latest MLB rumors are true, Red Sox fans might have to deal with another betrayal before getting over the Devers deal, with ESPN's Jeff Passan listing Alex Bregman among his top 50 MLB trade candidates.
Not only was Bregman on the list, but he was in the graphic of the article and was considered the most valuable player who could be dealt. Seeing him on that list was a jarring development.
As heartbreaking as it'd be for Red Sox fans to see Bregman traded soon after Devers' departure, the odds of a deal happening are incredibly slim. Passan gave it a 10 percent chance that he'd get traded, and I'd guess the odds are even slimmer than that.
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Red Sox fans have little reason to be concerned about an Alex Bregman betrayal
Even after a disheartening loss on Monday, the Red Sox are 40-40 on the year. That record might have them sitting in fourth place in the AL East, but they're only 6.0 games back of the division-leading New York Yankees and are 1.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot. With how weak the American League is, the Red Sox are right in the thick of the postseason race even at .500.
The Red Sox are right in the thick of the race despite a bevy of pitching injuries and a Bregman ailment that's kept him out for a month now. You'd think that when the Red Sox get healthier and potentially make an addition or two at the deadline, they'd be favored to make the postseason. As we've seen repeatedly, teams don't need to win their division to go on a deep postseason run.
Trading Devers hurt, but the Red Sox didn't do that to wave the white flag. They got out of a contract they felt was impossible to justify and got rid of a player who was unwilling to change positions. The Red Sox plan on competing, and doing so becomes a lot tougher without Bregman, a player who looked like the best third baseman in the game before getting hurt.
It's hard to blame Red Sox fans for their concern
While the odds of Bregman getting traded are incredibly slim, it's hard to blame concerned Red Sox fans for fearing the worst. They just saw a superstar get traded in the most unlikely of scenarios. Boston had just swept the New York Yankees to get back over .500 and were playing their best baseball of the season. Going from that to Devers getting traded out of nowhere in the span of hours was a tough pill to swallow.
Bregman hasn't caused any issues behind the scenes, but his contract situation makes it plausible for a team that might view itself as a non-threat to win the World Series to trade. Bregman signed a three-year, $120 million deal with Boston, but only this season was guaranteed. He has opt-outs after this season and next, meaning he can walk for nothing if he wants to. Rather than risk that, trading him for any sort of value could make sense.
With that being said, while the odds aren't zero that Bregman gets traded, it's certainly unlikely. Not only would the Red Sox have to find a taker for the contract, knowing he'd either be gone or making an obscene amount of money next season, but they'd have to wave the white flag on this season. The Red Sox have no reason to do that.
For now, there's nothing to worry about. Bregman is a Red Sox, and there's every reason to believe that'll be the case come August 1.