Latest Diamondbacks-Alex Bregman Update Has Ripple Effects For Red Sox

They might start dropping like flies...

Apr 3, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman (2) prior to the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Alex Bregman's free agency saga seemingly changes by the day, but a lot of positive signs are starting to emerge for the Boston Red Sox.

As reports have surfaced lately that the Red Sox made an "aggressive" offer for Bregman, other suitors have begun to diminish as threat levels. That began on Saturday, when the Toronto Blue Jays signed a different third baseman, Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto.

It's not yet definite, but as of Wednesday, it appears another long-rumored Bregman suitor is close to falling by the wayside.

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Are Diamondbacks almost out of Bregman picture?

On Wednesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the clearest signal yet that the Arizona Diamondbacks would only have a shot at Bregman if they traded away second baseman Ketel Marte, who is due to make over $102 million over the next five years.

"The Arizona Diamondbacks have expressed interest in Bregman, but club executives make it clear that he’d be an option only if they are able to trade All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte," Nightengale wrote. "They want to lower payroll this season, and simply don’t have room in the budget for both players."

Last week, Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that he believed all along that Marte was unlikely to be traded, and though he didn't commit to a timeline, professed his desire to end the entire trade saga "shortly."

The Red Sox have been a frequently-linked suitor for Marte all winter, and however much effort they've put into acquiring him, it doesn't seem as though they've come particularly close to prying him loose. Ditto for any other teams (i.e. Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays) that have been mentioned as serious Marte suitors.

Simple math would tell us that if the Diamondbacks are almost definitely not trading Marte, then they're almost definitely not going to stick around much longer as a serious suitor for Bregman. And there's no world in which that's bad news for the Red Sox.

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