How Alex Bregman Helped Red Sox's Rookie Superstar Unlock His Potential

As the Boston Red Sox get set for a second-straight winter of debates over how much to pay Alex Bregman, it's worth taking stock of how much he meant to the team beyond his own accolades.

Yes, Bregman made his third All-Star team and generally had a very strong season (though he slumped hard at the end). But the signing was just as much about the cultural fit and the leadership he would bring to a young team striving to make the playoffs.

Well, the Red Sox did make the playoffs, and rookie star outfielder Roman Anthony played a huge role in their success. And while there are many people to credit, chiefly Anthony himself, Bregman deserves recognition for how he helped the 21-year-old find his footing.

Bregman helped Anthony with key swing adjustment

During an appearance on the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast on Wednesday, Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse described an instance of Bregman going the extra mile to help Anthony adjust his swing mechanics during the season, which paid massive dividends.

"Breggy grabbed him one day in Philly, and I remember, I was there early, and all of a sudden, I remember him saying, 'Yeah, I've been talking to him about this, you know, let's go.'

"He starts ripping through video, talking shop, we went right to the cage and got to work. That's what makes him great, and that's where his impact on our group's, like, invaluable to me. ... Roman, the kid would make adjustments that you'd think would take 200 at-bats, and this kid would do it in 30, 40."

It was noticeable, during that series against the Phillies in July, that Anthony changed the position of his hands, angling the bat behind his head instead of sweeping it back from in front of his face during the load.

Beginning with the Red Sox's next series, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Anthony posted a .323 batting average with a .945 OPS in his final 34 games before suffering a season-ending oblique strain. The Red Sox went 21-13 in those games.

Fittingly, the big news in the Red Sox's world on Wednesday is that Bregman is planning to opt out of his contract, which was expected pretty much all along. When considering how much he's worth, the team not only has to consider how they think his bat will age, but how big a loss he'd be to Anthony and the other developing hitters on this roster like Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell.

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