Latest Red Sox Free Agency Report Hints At Alex Bregman-Kyle Schwarber Tandem

Cautious optimism is the name of the game at this time of year.

The Boston Red Sox definitely aren't done trying to improve the team in the wake of trading for Sonny Gray earlier this week. At the same time, there are 29 other teams trying to improve their rosters (possibly with a few exceptions), so the Red Sox may not get everyone they want.

One of the biggest questions we've had since the season ended, though, is whether the Red Sox will focus on adding one big bat or two. And acquiring Gray with a $21 million luxury tax hit could have been a sign that Boston only would be able to fit one into the payroll.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Could Red Sox sign two big bats?

On Thursday, however, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the Red Sox had five free-agent bats on its radar, and that signing two of them remained a distinct possibility.

"Boston is far from done," Heyman wrote. "The Red Sox are considering signing up to two of these five big-time lineup enhancements: uberpopular Kyle Schwarber, plus Pete Alonso, Kazuma Okamoto and J.T. Realmuto, as well as last winter’s big pickup Alex Bregman.

"With the quarter-billion dollars saved from the smart midseason dumping of Rafael Devers, Boston looks like a huge player this winter in what shapes up as a battle royal in baseball’s only division featuring three legit big-market teams. Bregman seems the most likely fit, but they’d love another big bat, with righty hitters preferred, although Schwarber is strongly in the mix following his brilliant 56-homer season, excellent clubhouse rep and familiarity from his cameo there in 2021."

Of course, not all "big bats" are created equal. Although Realmuto is a three-time All-Star, he's not someone Boston should be counting on slotting into the middle of the order. The flip side is that he might be easier to sign than a second in-prime slugger.

But if we're thinking dream scenarios, Heyman suggesting that Bregman and Schwarber teaming up in Boston is possible, or perhaps even Bregman and Alonso, is about as good a sign as Red Sox fans could have hoped for.

Of course, those fans have also justifiably been jaded by the team's lack of spending in years past, and we've also heard rumblings that going over the third luxury tax threshold is unlikely, so don't go buying those jerseys just yet.

More MLB: What Red Sox's 2026 Budget Looks Like After Sonny Gray Blockbuster