The Boston Red Sox find themselves within a week of spring training without the right-handed bat they’ve coveted all offseason.
The good news? Both players are still there for the taking.
Alex Bregman is still a free agent with a complicated market and the St. Louis Cardinals still need to work out a trade for Nolan Arenado. While the Bregman sweepstakes still remain rather ominous, the team reportedly re-engaged with the Cardinals on a potential Arenado deal.
“The Cards and Red Sox have again engaged in trade talks centered around Arenado in recent days, a source told MLB.com,” MLB.com Cardinals writer John Denton wrote. “Arenado, who hit .272 with 16 home runs and 71 RBIs in 2024, has a full no-trade clause in his contract, and he exercised that option in December to block a trade to the Astros.”
Denton followed up with an important note that the Red Sox would reportedly prefer Bregman over Arenado.
Story continues below advertisement
“Boston would prefer to sign Astros All-Star Alex Bregman, but it is in a bidding war with at least two other teams for the services of the free-agent third baseman, per the source,” Denton added.
That preference does make sense because Bregman is younger and does not require a trade return. Ultimately, at this point, the Red Sox have a need that requires one of these two players and need to choose one to execute a deal to lead into spring training with momentum.
