Red Sox ‘Double Down’ On Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman? Debate Rages

Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow went down swinging in his attempt to sign Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, who returned to Philadelphia for five years and $150 million.

But Breslow still has a chance to knock the ball out of the park. The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham reports it’s possible the Red Sox will re-sign third baseman Alex Bregman AND land New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso in free agency.

“The Sox are focused on bringing back free agent third baseman Alex Bregman. That’s their priority according to sources in and out of the organization,” Abraham writes.

“The Sox also have the opportunity to double down and sign first baseman Pete Alonso. It’s not Bregman or Alonso, it could be both. That conversation has been had at the Winter Meetings this week and it’s not fantasy baseball,” Abraham adds.

“Signing Alonso and Bregman would require financial creativity to lessen the salary tax burden on the Sox. Alonso could be open to such a deal given that his wife, Haley, is a Quincy native and the couple had their first child in September. That Scott Boras represents both players could help in that endeavor,” Abraham notes.

“The Red Sox are certainly open to adding two bats, though the chance of two high-priced free agent additions seems low,” Masslive.com’s Seam McAdam and Chris Cotillo report.

However in a separate post on X, Cotillo sounds less convinced.

“I don’t think they’re going to spend for two FA bats in the Alonso/Bregman camp. If there’s two major additions the guess is one FA, one trade. I don’t see $60M+ being added to the payroll from here on,” Cotillo tweets.

So where do things stand with Alonso?”

“(The) Red Sox have met with Pete Alonso on Zoom recently and are trying to schedule an in-person sit-down here in Orlando, we’ve heard. Person with knowledge of the bidding says it would be surprising for a deal (with any club) to come together by the end of the week but, as always, only takes one call,” Cotillo reports.

It sounds like the 31-year-old Alonso’s price tag went up Tuesday after Schwarber landed his new contract with the Phillies.

“Scott Boras also said it is fair for a younger player to ‘demand’ a longer contract than the going-on-33-year-old Kyle Schwarber, who got five years,” the Boston Globe’s Tim Healey reports.

Meanwhile, the market for Bregman is slowly developing.

“As of now, there are three contenders to sign Bregman. The Cubs and Tigers are at the top of the list. The Red Sox shouldn’t be counted out to bring him back,” NJ.com’s Bob Klapisch reports.

“Alex Bregman could be a Blue Jays fit, too, if they’re unable to re-sign Bo Bichette,” the New York Post’s Jon Heyman notes.

But don’t count out the Red Sox.

“We’ve had discussions at range for six or seven players, and Boston, their ownership, has made it clear to us that they want to add and improve beyond what their roster was last year,” Boras said, per The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey.