After a strong start to the offseason highlighted by the blockbuster trade for All-Star Garrett Crochet, the Red Sox’s winter has fallen into a lull. Meanwhile, former Houston Astros stud Alex Bregman, who has tormented Boston in his career, is sitting there without a deal and few other suitors making a strong push to sign him.
The Red Sox desperately need a right-handed bat, and many, including manager Alex Cora, have talked about his ability to play second base, a position Boston currently has empty. But he’s already 30 and his peak was a few seasons ago, so there appears to be justifiable concern about how a long-term contract would age.
On Wednesday, insider Chris Cotillo of MassLive expressed on social media that he didn’t see a Bregman-Red Sox pairing as likely this winter. That seems to be the general sentiment among those covering the team–the Red Sox are interested, but only if he falls in their lap at their preferred price.
Let’s assume, for assumption’s sake, that some other team (i.e. Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays) steps up and leaves Boston out of the running for Bregman. Which right-handed bat will they sign instead?
The best guess here is that it will be Randal Grichuk, who had a remarkable season in 2024 as an outfielder/designated hitter for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Grichuk, 33, had a .291/.348/.528 slash line in 106 games for Arizona: 57 in the outfield and 41 at DH, with 37 pinch-hit appearances sprinkled in. His line was carried by a .914 OPS in 184 plate appearances against left-handed pitching, though an .801 mark against righties (95 PA) is by no means subpar.
If those numbers look rather familiar, it’s because they’re almost identical to those put up by Boston fan-favorite Rob Refsnyder for the past two years. Indeed, Refsnyder and Grichuk would probably play very similar roles for the 2025 Red Sox–one in the outfield, and one DHing against lefties.
Is Grichuk someone Red Sox Nation would be ecstatic about signing? Probably not, but he’d probably come cheap (Spotrac projects him for a two-year, $6.7 million contract), and he could benefit even farther from the righty-friendly environment at Fenway Park.
And like it or not, fans still may want to brace themselves for Grichuk signing in Boston. Because, again, reading the tea leaves about Bregman, it seems a lot more likely that the Red Sox will go the cheap route.