With Pete Alonso and Jack Flaherty signing within the last week, Alex Bregman is the only high-end player remaining on the free agency market. Where and when he signs is anyone’s best guess, especially because of who his agent is.

One team that has been linked to Bregman all offseason is the Boston Red Sox, and he’s still as good of a fit now as he was in November. It’d require him playing a new position, second base, but Bregman’s bat and championship pedigree would fit in very nicely in Beantown. Comments from the team’s chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow, on The Fenway Rundown podcast confirmed as much, and might’ve torched whatever leverage Boston had in its Bregman chase.

“We’re still very much engaged in trying to bring in a right-handed hitter, obviously one that we think can be a difference-maker,” Breslow said on the podcast. “We haven’t been able to line up (on that) yet, but the offseason is still underway. I think it’s fair to say that in some respects, maybe the roster is a bit incomplete. But we’re going to continue to work really hard to try to round it out.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

Breslow makes it clear that the Red Sox are engaged in trying to bring in a right-handed hitter he views as a difference-maker. He says that the team is incomplete without that right-handed hitter. He’s absolutely right with this viewpoint.

The Red Sox have many talented hitters with guys like Rafael Devers, Jarren Duran and Triston Casas leading the way, but their best options are all left-handed mashers. Even top prospects Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony are left-handed hitters. A right-handed, middle-of-the-order hitter that Alex Cora can plug between some of those lefty sluggers can boost Boston’s offense tremendously.

With pitchers and catchers set to report in a matter of days, Bregman profiles as the only true difference-maker still out there, especially with Alonso now off the market.

Breslow could be talking about a trade candidate like Nolan Arenado, but his fit isn’t as clean as Bregman’s, and Arenado had a .719 OPS in 2024. He might bounce back playing half the time at Fenway Park and with better players around him to some degree, but he’s far from the MVP candidate he once was. Bregman is on the back-nine of his career as well, but he’s a tier or two above Arenado right now.

Breslow making it clear just how important it is for his team to add a right-handed bat puts himself and the organization in a tough spot. The Red Sox seemingly have three options now. They can meet Scott Boras’ lofty demands and sign the only difference-maker publicly available, they can add an underwhelming option, or they can do nothing. The Red Sox might’ve had some leverage in their Bregman negotiations given the fact that no other team appears to be desperate to land him, but Breslow made it clear that the Red Sox need him arguably even more than he needs them.

The best thing for this Red Sox franchise would be to convince Bregman to come to Beantown, but that might end up costing more now with Breslow taking away whatever bit of leverage Boston had.