The Boston Red Sox are 6-9, sitting in fourth place in the American League East, and the early record has only sharpened the scrutiny around a move they did not make. Alex Bregman signed with the Chicago Cubs as a free agent in the offseason, and Boston is now being measured against the bat and leadership he left behind.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic said the Red Sox “really miss” Bregman, calling him a key part of the lineup and a team leader. He also said Boston needed to improve at third base to free up another player for a super-utility role, a problem that looks bigger now as the club has gone 5-5 in its last 10 games and still has not separated itself in the division.
Bregman’s departure matters because the Red Sox entered the season with a hole at third base and a need for another bat in a crowded AL East. Bowden went further, saying Boston really needed to pivot to Bo Bichette before he signed with the Mets, a reminder that the team’s offseason choices are already being judged against the standings in April.
The tension for Boston is that the criticism is not coming from a bad week or one rough game. It is coming from the kind of start that keeps a team stuck in place, where every missed run and every empty inning makes the decision not to bring Bregman back look more expensive than it did in the winter.
For the Red Sox, the next step is plain: find production at third base or keep hearing about the one they let get away.
