As the official start of free agency approaches, all eyes around the Boston Red Sox are turning toward Alex Bregman.

Last winter, there was a lot of excitement about the Red Sox potentially finding a way to land Bregman and add him to a lineup with fellow third baseman Rafael Devers. Now, Devers has been traded away for good, and the prevailing emotion is fear that Bregman could depart and leave Boston without anyone at the hot corner.

With a ton of factors at play (money, age, leadership, and health), there’s no telling yet where Bregman will wind up. But insider Chris Cotillo has a doomsday prediction (at least for some).

Jul 29, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman (2) throws to first base for the out during the fifth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images / Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images

On Thursday, Cotillo’s projection for how the Red Sox’s infield situation would play out this winter included Bregman signing elsewhere, due to Boston’s unwillingness to offer as large a contract as some other mystery suitor.

“(The Red Sox) will obviously be in the mix to re-sign Bregman, but he wants a big combination of years and money and another club (Detroit? Cubs? Seattle?) may get silly and get to a place the Red Sox won’t,” Cotillo wrote.

“The prediction here is that the Red Sox retain Story, but not Bregman, who signs a big deal elsewhere. That forces Boston to be even more aggressive in its other pursuits, including for a bat, likely one that can play first base.”

When it came to those hypothetical power bats, Cotillo listed a smorgasbord of options: Luis Arraez, Pete Alonso, Eugenio Suárez, Kyle Schwarber, Josh Naylor, and a half-dozen, less inspiring others.

With the possible exception of Schwarber, it’s hard to see the Red Sox swapping out anyone for Bregman in a one-for-one fashion and pleasing the majority of the fan base.

But the choices the Red Sox front office makes don’t ultimately depend on the reaction from the die-hards. They depend on what they perceive to financially responsible, and in the best interest of the club to contend for titles both now and in years to come.

If that sounds like a lot to juggle, it is. But the Sox will try to juggle it once again this winter, and we’ll all be left guessing for a while as to how that juggling act impacts Bregman.

More MLB: Red Sox’s Silver Slugger News Highlights Importance Of Alex Bregman’s Free Agency