What Red Sox-Jorge Polanco Report Means For Pursuit Of Alex Bregman

Another free-agent bat came off the board on Saturday, and the Boston Red Sox still have yet to make their move.

Jorge Polanco, who had a fantastic offensive season as a second baseman/designated hitter with the Seattle Mariners, wound up signing with the New York Mets on a reported two-year, $40 million deal. Will Sammon of The Athletic was first with the news of the agreement.

Boston had been linked to Polanco fairly consistently, and it made sense as an offensive fit. There's no doubt Alex Cora would have loved to have a switch-hitter in his lineup to juggle around. But ultimately, there were signs that Boston wasn't all that interested -- and those signs could be indicative of Boston's real plans.

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Red Sox not offering Polanco means...

According to a Saturday report from Chris Cotillo of MassLive, the Red Sox never made an offer to Polanco, though they kept tabs on him before he agreed to terms with New York.

"The 32-year-old (Polanco) was one of many players on a long list of potential reinforcements for the Red Sox but was clearly not a top priority," Cotillo wrote.

"One potential concern was defense, as Polanco struggled defensively last year (he played 38 games at second base and five more at third while serving mainly as Seattle’s designated hitter), as chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is intent on improving Boston’s infield defense in 2026."

If defense is a priority and Boston is looking to make a bigger splash than Polanco before pivoting to more complementary bats, all signs are truly pointing to Boston reuniting with Alex Bregman (not to set up Red Sox fans for huge disappointment if that doesn't prove to be the case).

In fact, the end of the same report from Cotillo strongly hinted that if a free agent comes to Boston this offseason, it's likely to be Bregman.

"The Red Sox have been active in trying to add a bat over the past few days," Cotillo wrote. "Boston remains engaged with free agent Alex Bregman about a reunion and has been involved in trade talks with Arizona on Ketel Marte, Houston on Isaac Paredes, St. Louis on Brendan Donovan and Willson Contreras, and other clubs."

Nothing is a foregone conclusion. But it seems if Polanco wasn't Boston's cup of tea this offseason, Bregman is among the only small handful of free-agent candidates who can play both sides of the ball and make a genuine difference in the lineup.

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