FORT MYERS, Fla. — Day one of the Alex Bregman Red Sox era is in the books.
Bregman took part in his first workout with the Red Sox on Saturday morning, not long after his three-year deal with the club had been officially announced. A news conference at JetBlue Park is scheduled for Sunday morning.
Bregman took batting practice on the back fields on Saturday and later participated in infield drills on the turf alongside Rafael Devers.
While Bregman’s arrival answers many uncertainties for the Red Sox after an offseason of speculation about whether the club would add a right-handed bat, it also creates some questions. Namely, where will he play?
Coming off a Gold Glove-winning season at third base, Bregman is a sure-handed fielder who would strengthen the corner spot. But Bregman has also said he’s open to playing second base, a move that would allow Devers to remain at third.
Manager Alex Cora wasn’t ready to provide an answer on Saturday.
“He’s a Gold Glove third baseman. He hasn’t played (much) second base in the big leagues. I do believe he can be a Gold Glove second baseman too,” Cora said. “Like I said, there’s other stuff that comes into play as far as roster construction and what’s better for the team and what can be the best lineup, and competition comes into play. He’ll play in Texas (on Opening Day), I guarantee you that. He’ll be in the lineup. Where (he plays)? We’ll talk about it later.”
One thing Cora has already decided is that Bregman will hit within the top three spots. With Jarren Duran almost surely the leadoff hitter, it’s likely Bregman will be in the two- or three-hole.
“The top three, they’re going to be very, very good, electric,” Cora said. “I think (Bregman’s) at-bat, it’s different. He’s kind of like J.D. (Martinez) in ‘18 when he came here. (Justin) Turner a few years ago, just a different at-bat and he should be hitting top of the lineup.”
Alex Bregman stuns in new photo. pic.twitter.com/WGEmcHYPsd
— Red Sox (@RedSox) February 15, 2025
On the back fields on Saturday, Bregman was already working with his new teammates, shadowing Trevor Story and watching prospects Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer take infield practice. Cora is excited about Bregman’s vocal leadership qualities, having compared him several times to friend and former teammate Dustin Pedroia.
“It’s not only the execution of the plan, it’s what happens in the clubhouse, watching video, the communication factor,” Cora said. “He’s ahead of the game on that one, I’m telling you. We had a great conversation last night. Had dinner with him and Trevor, and we could have been in the restaurant for five hours talking baseball, and that’s what it’s all about. He made a point of staying there on Field 3 (Saturday) to see (Campbell) and Marcelo and (Nick Sogard) take grounders. He already had pointers about Campbell and I was like, ‘Take it easy, kid.’ But he’s into it. He wants to win. That’s all he knows. Since ‘17, he’s been in the playoffs the whole time, two World Series rings. And like I said, I’m very happy that we have him.”
Devers has long taken a more quiet leadership role in the organization versus having a boisterous personality to rally his teammates. Bregman’s confidence as a clubhouse leader, in addition to the fact he may end up taking over third base, could be seen as a tricky situation for Cora to navigate, but the manager didn’t view it that way.
“Raffy is still the guy down there and in that clubhouse,” Cora said. “That’s the reason he came here early for three weeks. That’s the reason he’s in the cage helping guys. That’s the reason he was taking ground balls with (Bregman) today. Raffy wants to get better. He wanted the organization to be better, the team to be better and if you compare us today to how we finished last year, we are a lot better.”
Devers has been in camp but has not yet spoken with the media. He’s scheduled to talk on Monday. Cora said he’s been busy getting his work in.
“We talked and he’s happy that (Bregman is here),” Cora said. “He understands that offensively, we took it to the next level.”
Story, in particular, was happy to have Bregman on board. He said he texted with Bregman throughout the winter in hopes of recruiting him, knowing Bregman had other options on the table.
“Anytime you can have a Gold Glove infielder that’s a big thing,” Story said. “It’s kind of been a weakness of ours the last couple of years, which it bothers me because I haven’t been able to be out there and play and to help that out. But he’s a great addition to kind of shore things up, because if we’re going to go where we want to go, we need to play good defense.”
Story said he didn’t have to work hard to convince Bregman, who’s also close with Cora, why Boston would be a good fit.
“He’s played in Fenway, he’s been through his fair share of games there,” Story said. “And there’s just nothing like the atmosphere. There’s nothing like playing in Boston and there’s nothing like winning in Boston. I think, to me, it just feels like it means more. And I think that was a big thing that drew me to Boston and I think obviously the Monster in left. He’s a pull-side, in-the-air guy. That plays well for his swing. … He can see what we have brewing here and moves we’ve made. The young players we have, the young core, he could definitely see how we can win and that’s what he’s all about. So that was a big part of it.”
Where Bregman plays remains to be seen for now, but step one has been accomplished: Bregman is officially a member of the Red Sox.
Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello discuss injury status
On Friday, Cora revealed both Crawford and Bello were dealing with setbacks that have delayed them at the outset of camp. While Crawford’s status remains in question, Bello relayed positive news on Saturday.
“Feeling good,” he said through translator Daveson Perez. “I’m in the recovery process, but starting (Sunday), I’m gonna start throwing again. So it’s all good.”
Bello said he felt soreness in his shoulder back home in the Dominican Republic a week before coming to camp. He arrived in Fort Myers and threw a bullpen, but still experienced soreness and rather than let it develop into something more, mentioned it to the team. An MRI on the shoulder came back clean and Bello received treatment for the past week with the plan to begin throwing on Sunday.
“I just wanted to rule it out of the jump because I want to be ready for the start of the season,” he said.
Crawford, however, had a less definitive prognosis. The right-hander revealed he injured his right knee in his third start of the season last year and spent the year receiving various forms of treatment to varying degrees of success.
“It fluctuated,” he said of the pain. “It never went away. Sometimes it was worse than others.”
Crawford said a knee brace he tried to wear last year didn’t help much. The plan entering the offseason was to continue receiving treatment and strength training for the knee rather than having surgery. While it seemed that plan was working, he had a setback in rehab that forced him to scale back.
“I had a couple hiccups within the rehab progression of it all,” the 28-year-old said. “I’m just a little behind. The strength just isn’t there where we want it to be. And, yeah, just a little behind, kind of taking it day by day.”
Because he couldn’t push off the mound with his back leg, he said that resulted in his velocity dipping later in the season as the innings piled up. Still, Crawford made a team-high 33 starts.
Opening Day isn’t for six weeks, but Crawford would have to start building up soon to be ready on time. He hasn’t thought that far ahead.
“That’s not really in my hands,” he said. “It’s kind of whatever process they want to do in the training room so I can’t really speak on that.
“I definitely don’t want to be in this spot right now,” he added. “Going through the offseason, I put in a lot of work. I feel like I got in pretty good shape overall, but the knee was just something that was just dragging behind. Like I said, I had a couple hiccups. I was doing some strength testing and the knee did not agree with it, and it kind of just set me back a little bit.”
Story arrives eager for a fresh start
Trevor Story tosses an autographed ball to a fan at Red Sox camp on Feb. 15. (Chris Tilley / Imagn Images)
It’s no secret the past three seasons have not gone Story’s way. Since signing with the Red Sox in 2022, Story has played a total of 163 games across three seasons. He’s hoping his fourth year is the charm. Story broke his shoulder in April, had reconstructive surgery and returned to the Red Sox in September. He said that aggressive rehab and return to the team helped him get a head start on preparation this winter.
“It was big for me to come back and play there at the end of the season,” he said. “I got to pass a lot of mental hurdles with the injury and it was important to me because I could prove to myself I’m good to go and have a healthy offseason. Let’s ride this momentum. And I think I did. I played well, and my shoulder is in a much, much better spot than it was at the end of the season. So that gives me a lot of confidence.”
Story hasn’t played more than 100 games in a season since 2021, but Cora thinks he can count on Story for many more this season given that the injuries were freak accidents rather than a result of Story’s fitness level.
“You can’t control diving in the hole and breaking your shoulder,” Cora said. “You can’t control getting hit in the hand, that’s what happens. He had surgery. It’s not like he pulls a hammy or groin or whatever. It’s serious injuries, so the goal is to play 150 or so and help us win ballgames.”
Defense is Story’s calling card, but Cora said he wants Story to lean into his speed and power this season. In 94 games during his first season in Boston, Story hit 22 doubles and 16 homers with 20 stolen bases. A season of 35 doubles and 20 to 25 homers with 25 or 30 steals could be within reach.
“I think he did a good job toward the end of the season last year and they found a few things in his mechanics and he was able to execute in the batter’s box,” Cora said. “The most important thing, hopefully he stays healthy. If he can do that he’s going to be OK.”
More pitching notes
Walker Buehler threw his first live batting practice on Saturday. Greg Weissert and Zack Kelly also had live BPs. Coming off a rough season overall, Buehler had an impressive postseason stretch and is hoping that carries into this season. Cora was pleased with Buehler’s first session.
“It was good, he threw a lot of strikes,” Cora said. “He’s healthy. He feels good, it’s about working on stuff. So that’s a good sign.”
Justin Slaten left camp for a few days to deal with a family matter but returned on Saturday.
Masataka Yoshida has been hitting in the cage but has not started throwing. Cora said his throwing program should begin in two weeks.
(Top photo of Alex Bregman from May 12, 2024: Nic Antaya / Getty Images)
