Red Sox Get Glass-Half-Full Update On Alex Bregman-Diamondbacks Buzz

On Tuesday, the Arizona Diamondbacks came from out of nowhere to announce their presence in the Alex Bregman sweepstakes.

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Diamondbacks were "kicking the tires" on Bregman as of Tuesday. Underdog's Jared Carrabis suggested that Arizona might be even further along in its pursuit in a post shared to X.

The Diamondbacks were the classic "mystery team" that a team like the Boston Red Sox has to fear when it allows Bregman to linger in free agency instead of quickly re-signing him. Just how worried, though, should Boston be?

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

Arizona's constraints in Bregman pursuit

Later in the evening on Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic provided an update that has to be reassuring to some degree for Red Sox fans: Arizona, it seems, is highly unlikely to sign Bregman until if and when it trades second baseman Ketel Marte.

"The DBacks almost certainly would need to trade Marte before signing Bregman; they would lose leverage doing it the other way around. The deferrals in Marte’s contract lower his average annual value for luxury-tax purposes to $14.6 million. Bregman likely would go for at least twice that AAV, but the Diamondbacks’ current payroll is an estimated $17 million lower than it was last season."

The Red Sox, of course, have constantly been linked to Marte as a fit, and if anything, the Diamondbacks could have had even more leverage over Boston with the threat of signing Bregman looming. But if their financial situation forces them to offload Marte first, the Red Sox seemingly hold some of the cards as well.

Plus, Rosenthal hinted that Arizona, like Boston, might be hesitant to give Bregman the kind of long-term deal it seems he covets more this offseason than he did a year ago.

"The DBacks might be reluctant to go long-term with a hitter of that age, but the Burnes contract demonstrated their willingness to be creative," Rosenthal wrote. "The question is whether Bregman would agree to a deal similar to the one he signed last offseason with the Red Sox – three years, $120 million with two opt-outs. As he gets into his 30s, a shorter agreement would be less appealing."

Nothing can be ruled out, but at the very least, Rosenthal seems to be preparing nervous fans for an order of operations -- Marte would first have to be traded before that "BREAKING" news alert about Bregman signing in Arizona could hit the internet.

More MLB: Red Sox's Much-Debated Ketel Marte Push Gets Green Light From MLB Insider