Red Sox Rumors: Boston Has Preference On Adding Right-Handed Star

The Boston Red Sox find themselves within a week of spring training without the right-handed bat they’ve coveted all offseason.

The good news? Both players are still there for the taking.

Alex Bregman is still a free agent with a complicated market and the St. Louis Cardinals still need to work out a trade for Nolan Arenado. While the Bregman sweepstakes still remain rather ominous, the team reportedly re-engaged with the Cardinals on a potential Arenado deal.

“The Cards and Red Sox have again engaged in trade talks centered around Arenado in recent days, a source told MLB.com,” MLB.com Cardinals writer John Denton wrote. “Arenado, who hit .272 with 16 home runs and 71 RBIs in 2024, has a full no-trade clause in his contract, and he exercised that option in December to block a trade to the Astros.”

Denton followed up with an important note that the Red Sox would reportedly prefer Bregman over Arenado.

“Boston would prefer to sign Astros All-Star Alex Bregman, but it is in a bidding war with at least two other teams for the services of the free-agent third baseman, per the source,” Denton added.

That preference does make sense because Bregman is younger and does not require a trade return. Ultimately, at this point, the Red Sox have a need that requires one of these two players and need to choose one to execute a deal to lead into spring training with momentum.