FORT MYERS, Fla. — Everything is different now. Red Sox Nation’s long nightmare appears to be over. The Local Nine is back in business, spending money just like the old days and trying to win this year.
Life changed for Sox fans late Wednesday when news broke that Boston signed veteran Houston third baseman Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million deal.
After a couple of tight-fisted offseasons peppered with broken promises and faux pledges about “urgency,” this was a move Boston fans were waiting for. Bregman is a two-time World Series winner, a legitimate clubhouse leader, and a Fenway Park wrecking ball (.375 lifetime).
Anybody have a recording of the late John Kiley playing the “Hallelujah Chorus” on the Fenway Park organ?
Oh, happy day! Red Sox owner John Henry (who also owns the Globe) once again has paid big bucks for the best available righthanded hitter on the market.
Shortly after news of the deal broke late Wednesday, Henry’s wife, Linda Henry, who is the Globe’s chief executive officer, posted a photo on Instagram of the Red Sox owner relaxing by a fireplace, smoking a victory cigar.
Downright Auerbach-ian.
It’s still fair to question what the Sox are up to, because one could say this is “just another” one-year contract because of the opt-outs. In addition, deferred monies might keep Boston payroll lower than things first appear. But you will not hear any negativity from this typist in the wake of this acquisition.
To me, it’s a clear signal that the Red Sox are serious about winning this year. This deal puts them into the conversation as legitimate contenders for the AL East.
After five years of hearing about “payroll flexibility”, one year contracts, dumpster dives for bargain/marginal talent, and “baseball players are expensive,” the Red Sox are once again behaving like the big market team we came to know and love when they won four World Series championships between 2004 and 2018.
The Sox no doubt overpaid for Bregman — he’s on the books for a whopping $40 million per season for three years. But the club maintained its coveted flexibility with a structure that allows an opt-out after each season. The Sox played the waiting game with Bregman and agent Scott Boras and it paid off.
Boston was smart to steer clear of the six- or seven-year package they were seeking. Bregman turns 31 in March and his numbers have dipped in recent times. Nobody wanted to be paying him big bucks in the year 2030.
This move indicates the Sox were were serious when team president Sam Kennedy talked about “investing more than we did last year” and “extreme urgency internally.”
There hasn’t been a lot of hope going into any Boston season since Mookie Betts was traded in a cash-saving move five years ago. That’s when ownership pivoted from free spending to middle-market management and it gave way to five years of abject mediocrity: three last-place finishes, last year’s 81-81 record, and only one playoff October.
After the 2019 firing of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, new chief baseball officers Chaim Bloom and then Craig Breslow cut payroll and implemented a long-term recovery plan focused on draft and development. Boston’s farm system was recently ranked No. 1 by Baseball America, but fans have not seen much improvement on the field.
Manager Alex Cora greeted pitchers and catchers for the club’s first official workout Wednesday, but continued to field questions about holes in the Sox defense and the lack of righthanded power. Bregman solves those issues. A third baseman by trade, it’s presumed he’ll move to second base, leaving Rafael Devers at third.
Cora and Breslow are going to be asked a thousand questions about this deal and the makeup of their team over the next few days, but suddenly there’s some excitement about Boston’s Olde Towne Team.
The Sox improved their pitching in this offseason, adding stud lefty starter Garrett Crochet to a rotation that includes Tanner Houck, Walker Buehler, Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello, and Kutter Crawford. Veterans Liam Hendricks and Aroldis Chapman have been added to the bullpen.
The Sox have three solid outfielders (Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Cedanne Rafaela) who are all plus defenders. They have three of the top 25 [prospects in all of baseball in Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer.
And now the messy infield has been shored up. Bigly. Bregman changes everything.
I think I just figured out why Alex Cora’s been in such a good mood down here this week.
Cora knows Bregman. He knows what a leader he’s getting. He’s know what an impact player the Sox are getting.
Same here.
This is a strong move by the Red Sox. They have finally rewarded their fans. Just like the old days.
Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at daniel.shaughnessy@globe.com. Follow him @dan_shaughnessy.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
