Red Sox Must Sign Alex Bregman Before 'Wild Card' Gets Involved

The Boston Red Sox's biggest need is obvious at this point and has been discussed daily for a couple of months.

Boston needs power in the middle of the lineup. The most obvious free agent option all offseason to this point -- and even before it began -- was retaining Alex Bregman. That has only been amplified with the top two free agent sluggers (Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso) agreeing to deals with teams throughout the winter meetings not called the Red Sox. Schwarber is staying with the Philadelphia Phillies and Alonso is going to face Boston plenty of times, as a member of the Baltimore Orioles.

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There's not really another way to shake it. Bregman is the most obvious fit for the organization and the club shouldn't wait around to get a deal done. He came over to the organization and was everything the team could've asked for, especially with Rafael Devers traded. If both sides want to stick together, they should settle it soon so Boston then has plenty of time to address other areas of the club. Free agency leads to negotiations and hardball and things like that, but this isn't a situation to mess with to find the perfect deal, arguably.

The Red Sox should act quickly

On Friday, MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo gave an update on where things stand with Boston and Bregman.

"There’s obviously mutual interest with Bregman, whose market might pick up with Alonso and Schwarber both off the board," Cotillo wrote. "There are questions about the rest of Bregman’s market, though he’s known to have received at least some interest from the Cubs, Tigers, and perhaps others. That Bregman reportedly is trying to get the Mariners involved in his market is an interesting sign that the early offers might not have lined up the way he hoped.

"An interesting wild card that could enter the fray is the Mets, who have money to spend and spots to fill after watching both Alonso and closer Edwin Díaz walk. The Red Sox don’t feel like they need a resolution from Bregman’s camp before pouncing on another hitter, and to that end, continue to try to move the ball down the field on other talks."

It's good to continue to hear that there is interest on both sides. That has been the case all offseason and reports pointed to Bregman being the team's priority throughout the winter meetings. That very well may be the case and behind the scenes the front office could be feverishly trying to get a deal done.

But after Schwarber and Alonso came off the board, there's less wiggle room now. If both sides want to stick together, arguably, they should do so as soon as possible so Boston doesn't risk missing on another star.

The Red Sox need to get a deal done as fast as possible, especially before the "wild card" Mets can get involved. That's a team that just lost two franchise cornerstones in Alonso and Díaz and has more money than anyone else. They could win any bidding war. But needs to act before the Mets fully get involved.

Maybe the fact that the Red Sox "don’t feel like" they need an answer from Bregman is a sign of confidence, but at this point, they already missed on two bats.

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