Alex Bregman's Impact on the Red Sox's Offensive Strategy

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00:00Uh, but Alex Bregman, the Red Sox did not save their money.

00:04They spent it.

00:05That's right on Alex Bregman.

00:07And just for context, last year, this offense wasn't that bad.

00:10They were actually ninth in runs scored ahead of the Minnesota Twins and the Houston Astros

00:15and the Cubs.

00:17But more runs good for major league baseball, more runs good for the Boston Red Sox.

00:23And Alex Bregman, you might say, well, you're not really a game changer.

00:26Consider this in 98 games at Fenway Park, he had a 490 on base percentage at a 750 slugging.

00:33So that's a pretty big sample.

00:3598 games.

00:36It's not 12 where you go, I can't really take that into context.

00:40So clearly from a ballpark perspective, this is a place where Alex Bregman was seeing the

00:44ball pretty well, feeling pretty confident.

00:47Now the one big change is going to have to happen here is understanding the Boston fan

00:52is a lot like the New York or Chicago fan.

00:54They're less forgiving.

00:56So if Alex Bregman does not get out of the gates on a high note, it could get a little

01:00rough out for him a little different than say the Houston Astros media or the Houston

01:04Astros fan base.

01:05I think a little bit more forgiving and a little bit more caring, dare I say they love

01:10their guys.

01:11Well, places like Boston, New York, they love their guys unless they're hating their guys

01:15because they're not performing.

01:16So Bregman needs to get off to a hot start to make this all work.

01:19But certainly those numbers are encouraging that when you look at them, you have to feel

01:23like, all right, Boston did their homework.

01:26They brought in a guy who clearly can hit in this ballpark, clearly is going to be an

01:30asset for them.

01:31And I think also be a cushion for some of these young players that they want to develop

01:35that they don't have to push them too quickly.

01:37Yes.

01:38A thousand percent.

01:39Ding, ding, ding.

01:40We have a winner.

01:41And, you know, they say that it's smarter on sports grid.

01:44So you mentioned the fan that boos the fickle fan.

01:47Well, us here, we understand that Bregman plays a much larger role.

01:51Just his presence alone in the lineup makes teams pitch differently, makes situational

01:58baseball different.

01:59Alex Cora.

02:00You guys ever play Uno?

02:01Alex Cora now has a draw four or a wild card with him, and he doesn't have to do anything,

02:07but he has it.

02:08And that to me is I don't want people to get fooled into investing in Bregman in isolation,

02:13but his presence around that lineup and what it forces other teams to do.

02:18Therein is the money, I think, Joe.

02:22I think you're right, and I think they've set themselves up really well in the future

02:25here.

02:26Again, I don't expect a lot of Trevor's story.

02:28I know they expect him to play shortstop.

02:30We'll see how that goes.

02:31The guy never plays games.

02:33I thought it was a terrible signing in the first place.

02:35Didn't like it.

02:36But you have Christian Campbell coming through, right?

02:38Who has a lot of Mookie Betts-like qualities, right?

02:40Great athlete.

02:41Can play the infield, can play the outfield.

02:42Raffaello, who was playing some shortstop last year, he's going to move out to centerfield.

02:45Okay, there's flexibility.

02:47It does feel like eventually you want to move Devers from third to first.

02:50It feels like a path that they want to take.

02:52The problem is Tristan Kossis is there.

02:54So what are you going to do?

02:55You going to put Devers into the DH spot?

02:57Maybe.

02:58But if you do want to move guys around, or maybe Tristan Kossis does struggle a little

03:01bit, I don't think he will.

03:03I think Kossis is ready, and I think that guy's got enormous left-handed power that

03:07is really going to surprise people this year.

03:09I think he's going to hit 30-plus homers in 2025.

03:13I'm looking at the flexibility Bregman gives you.

03:15And right now he's at second, but it doesn't mean he's going to stay there.

03:17You could end up with Campbell at second.

03:19You could end up with Bregman at third, Devers at first, and Kossis in the DH spot.

03:23There's a lot of things that can go on now because you have the flexibility.

03:27And God forbid you have an injury.

03:29Now you have a lot of flexibility too.

03:30And if you look at a team like the Yankees, the Yankees were a team last year I think

03:33struggled because of the depth, right?

03:35They had a very top-heavy team.

03:37This year they did a good job of addressing some of those issues and bringing some of

03:40that depth in there, and that flexibility in guys like Cody Bellinger, because I feel

03:43like, Matt, in this day and age, you really need that flexibility in your roster because

03:49injuries are inevitable.

03:50Are you kidding me?

03:52162 games?

03:53We bemoan the fact, look, as wagerers we have to take into consideration it's 162 games.

03:57But as fans and as players, you talk about the toll that it takes.

04:01April is much different than July.

04:03Totally.

04:04But how about the fact that we're actually talking Yankees and Red Sox, and it's not

04:07even close to first pitch.

04:09That my friends tells you something.

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