Walker Buehler Made Pitch To Star Free Agent To Join Red Sox

The Red Sox signing starting pitcher Walker Buehler might not be a standalone deal.

In fact, Buehler hopes he’s just one piece of a greater free agent package headed to Boston this winter.

Buehler, who agreed to a one-year, $21.05 million deal with the Red Sox last week, told reporters Friday on a Zoom call that he’s been in the ear of free agent infielder Alex Bregman to come join him in Boston.

“I have certainly made a pitch all over the place for him to come to Boston,” Buehler said. “He and I have been buddies for a long time. We played on Team USA together a little bit in college.”

Buehler and Bregman are such close friends that they entered the horseracing industry together. They own a horse, which won for the first time at Santa Anita last week.

“I got involved in this horse and there was more of the horse that could have been purchased, so, he was the one guy I called and he opted in,” said Buehler, who hails from Lexington, Ky.

Buehler being with the Red Sox gives Bregman another tie to the franchise. Boston skipper Alex Cora was Bregman’s bench coach with the Houston Astros in 2017.

The Red Sox have been linked to Bregman throughout the entire offseason as chief baseball officer Craig Breslow searches for a right-handed bat to balance out a lefty-heavy lineup. There have been conflicting reports this week on where the Red Sox currently stand on Bregman. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman viewed Boston as an “outside possibility” to sign Bregman while The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal believes the Red Sox are a “very logical” landing spot for the 30-year-old infielder.

Bregman would bring more than just a polished right-handed bat to the Red Sox — he’s coming off a season in which he hit .260 with 26 home runs and 75 RBIs. Like Buehler, he’s a two-time World Series winner and could provide a major leadership presence in the Boston clubhouse. He’s also a Gold Glove-winning third baseman.

But Bregman won’t be cheap to sign as he looks to cash in on possibly the last big payday of his career. Reports indicate that Bregman is looking for a seven-year deal in the range of $200 million.

The Red Sox will need to convince Bregman that Boston is a better spot for him with other teams pursuing him as well, but now having Buehler on their side should help in that regard.