Why Alex Bregman Will Make Red Sox Defensive Change Look Easy

Alex Bregman was a two-time All-American shortstop in college, who contributed to two World Series before also winning a Gold Glove as a third baseman. Now, as a member of the Red Sox, he’s expected to play second base.

While it might not make a ton of sense on the surface, it has the potential to shore up one of Boston’s biggest weaknesses. Bregman, who turns 31 in a month, is still a tremendous athlete who will make Boston better on both sides of the ball. And while he won the Gold Glove in 2024 for what he did at third base, the presence of Rafael Devers means he’ll likely move across the diamond to second base — where he has 32 career innings — and try to help the Red Sox return to the playoffs for the first time in 2021.

Former major league utilityman and NESN analyst Lou Merloni had more than 100 games at third base, shortstop and second base each, making him uniquely qualified to assess Bregman’s situation.

He thinks Bregman’s skill set will make the transition a relative non-factor.

“I still think he’s an elite defender, even at second base,” Merloni told NESN.com from Fort Myers, Fla. on Thursday afternoon. “There will be some things he’ll have to work on. The double plays are the first thing that come to mind. Starting double plays, finishing double plays, are some things he’ll get the work in at spring training with enough time to get used to it.”

Bregman’s past is an indicator of how he could adapt. At LSU, he was the best shortstop in the country. He played the position all the way up through the minors, and the only reason he became a third baseman at the big league level was that Houston had Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve at shortstop and second base, respectively.

It worked out well. Only six third basemen have produced more defensive runs saved than Bregman since 2017.

At second, Bregman will have to get comfortable with seeing the ball off the bat from a different angle on the other side of the diamond. He’ll have to work on going to his left and his right. At third base, the foul line gives a bit of a boundary on balls to the infielder’s right. The hope is Bregman can move to his right on balls up the middle just as well as he could to his left, where he specialized as a third baseman in his career.

“Third (base) is just, once you kind of see the ball off the bat, I think once you get used to that, and you’re there for a long time — I think it’s difficult to slide over there and play it once in a while,” Merloni said. ” … I think second base has more of a shortstop feel, the diamond feels more open to you, and you have a chance to read balls a little more and take your time (while) at shortstop you have to get it out quick and can’t be able to bobble the ball.”

(Bregman) not just adds a veteran leadership presence who’s won championships, but he also creates a ton of depth in your organization and covers a lot of ground if you need it.

If there are balls Bregman can get to, he should turn them into outs. His arm strength, compared to other third basemen, was average at best in 2024. Moving to second deemphasizes that, of course, and it might make his high-level skills — his ability to get to balls and field them cleanly — play up.

“(The arm) still plays,” Merloni said. “Double plays, balls up the middle, going to his right — the surehandedness he plays third base with improves at second. Third base sometimes is really all about the first step and that jump and not putting yourself in a vulnerable position on a ground ball. Now, he’s got a little more time to read it. He’s still surehanded, that arm (that was good) from across the diamond, comes into play up the middle turning double plays, that’s arm strength.”

Merloni added: “It’s different when you’re talking about subpar infielders moving around, maybe there is one place he’s better at than another. When you’re talking about a player the defensive level of Bregman, he goes from third to second, I expect him to be in the Gold Glove discussion at second base if that’s where he’s at.”

Clearly, the Red Sox agree with that assessment. They wouldn’t make the deal otherwise. Boston manager Alex Cora told NESN in January that he has been saying since his own days in Houston that Bregman could play second base at the highest level.

“I always envisioned him as a Gold Glove second baseman,” he told Merloni and Tom Caron at Fenway Fest, recalling a 2017 conversation with Bregman. “His size, the way he moves, it felt kind of like you’ll be a second baseman, but he’s played third base at a high level.”

The 2024 Red Six finished the season sixth in baseball in defensive runs saved, but a major chunk of that (45 of 49 DRS) came from the outfield, primarily center fielder Cedanne Rafaela and Gold Glove right fielder Wilyer Abreu. Now, with Trevor Story healthy and Bregman to his left, there’s reason to believe team defense will be a major strength for the club in 2025 — on the grass and the dirt.

“It’s something that’s desperately needed,” Merloni said. “If Story can stay healthy with currently the way the outfield is set up, there’s a good chance you could have Bregman, Story, Durran, Rafaela, and Abreu as Gold Glove finalists for a team that desperately needed to improve its defense over the last two years.”

For all the latest on another busy day at Red Sox spring training, including an interview with Garrett Crochet, check out “Red Sox From Fort Myers” at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday.