Could Red Sox Explore Reunion If Alex Bregman Signs Elsewhere?

It’s unknown where free agent Alex Bregman standings with teams, including the Boston Red Sox.

Bregman was rumored to have a six-year offer extended to him in December from the Houston Astros, and other offers from the Red Sox and Detroit Tigers have reportedly come in as well. But still, nothing has come of the contract offers and pitchers and catchers have already begun reporting to spring training, leaving Bregman — and all pursuing clubs — a tight window to reach an agreement before Opening Day.

In Boston’s case, fewer than seven weeks remain until the 2025 campaign officially begins.

It also seems as though the Red Sox could be in the market for a Bregman backup plan, although chief baseball officer Craig Breslow isn’t alone with that thought.

“The Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers have also expressed varying levels of interest in both (Justin) Turner and Bregman,” Patrick Mooney and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported. “The Red Sox, though, have Triston Casas at first base, Rafael Devers at third base and Masataka Yoshida as their designated hitter. Meanwhile, the Tigers probably prefer to go with younger players — they’re moving Colt Keith to first base to make room for second baseman Gleyber Torres.”

Turner enters his age-40 season in 2025 and with 16 seasons of big-league service time, the two-time All-Star has logged valuable experience with the Red Sox. Boston skipper Alex Cora, along with a handful of current team roster members, is plenty familiar with Turner’s leadership and power from the right-handed side of the plate — a need for which Breslow has claimed the front office has tirelessly searched for since last year’s trade deadline.

Boston’s done plenty in the pitching department. The organization added Justin Wilson and Aroldis Chapman to the bullpen, then upgraded the rotation by acquiring Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox and Walker Buehler and Patrick Sandoval in free agency. That’s a more-than-valiant effort in revamping the entire pitching staff, but the Red Sox still haven’t added a notable bat to the lineup.

Turner could be that very bat for the Red Sox.

Boston had Turner for its 2023 season and the two-time World Series champion was a beloved presence at Fenway Park. Turner batted .276 with 23 home runs and 96 RBIs in a Red Sox uniform, garnering loads of respect for his start-to-finish mentality in which Turner played each of his 146 appearances with the utmost effort.

Now, Turner’s reached the tail-end of his baseball career and perhaps there’s enough left in the tank for a final ride into the sunset, again with the Red Sox.

Turner spent last season playing for both the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, batting .259 with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs in 139 games. With Triston Casas slated to be the starting first baseman, Turner wouldn’t need to worry about playing much defense and could focus solely on going deep as a returning designated hitter.

Toronto landed Turner on a one-year, $13 million agreement last offseason.