Red Sox In Play For Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette After Willson Contreras

The Boston Red Sox reportedly agreed to acquire their first big-time slugger of the offseason on Sunday night.

Reports broke -- starting from ESPN's Jeff Passan -- that the Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals were in agreement on a deal that would bring Willson Contreras to Boston in a package centered around sending Hunter Dobbins to St. Louis.

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

It's a good reported move, but it shouldn't be the team's last. On Monday, The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey weighed in on the Red Sox's search for pop in the middle of the order and reported that Alex Bregman remains a "priority" for the organization. She also noted that if Bregman signs with the Toronto Blue Jays, the Red Sox will "figure to push harder" for All-Star infielder Bo Bichette.

The Red Sox have a little bit of work to do

"The Red Sox are still pursuing another bat to add to their lineup, a second league source confirmed, and re-signing Alex Bregman remains a priority," McCaffrey wrote. "However, that task has become more difficult in recent days as Bregman’s market is heating up with Arizona and now Toronto in the mix.

"If Bregman signs with Toronto, the Red Sox figure to push harder for free-agent infielder Bo Bichette with the intent of playing him at second base. The Red Sox are also in the mix for free agent third baseman Eugenio Suárez and have shown interest in Houston’s Isaac Paredes and Arizona’s Ketel Marte."

This is the right idea for the organization. No need to get complacent now. Contreras is a big addition, but doesn't completely put the Red Sox over the top. If they could land either Bregman or Bichette plus Contreras, there's an argument that Boston would have the best roster in the American League on paper.

A starting rotation featuring Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello, and John Oviedo is a great start. Add in either Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, Kyle Harrison, Kutter Crawford, or Patrick Sandoval and you've really got something here. That's a significantly above-average rotation on paper.

If the Red Sox's starting lineup features some combination of Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarren Duran, and Wilyer Abreu plus Contreras, Bregman/Bichette, Trevor Story, Marcelo Mayer, Carlos Narváez, and either Masataka Yoshida or Triston Casas DHing, that's a good lineup.

Boston is right on the doorstep but needs one more move to out the club over the top.

More MLB: Red Sox Lose 28-Year-Old To Yankees After Roller Coaster Season