Red Sox sign Alex Bregman in deal that answers one question, raises more

The Red Sox have a new . . . TBD-baseman.

It finally happened.

In a rather shocking deal given the questionable roster fit and reported front office in-fighting, the Red Sox signed 30-year-old All-Star Alex Bregman to a three-year contract worth $120 million, with player opt-outs after each year. This is an unorthodox deal in many ways, starting with the fact that players of Alex Bregman’s quality almost never sign for so few years. There’s going to be a lot of talk about the money and structure of this deal in the coming days (or, let’s be honest: the coming years). $40 is a massive average annual value for a team to carry on its payroll, and the opt-outs represent significant value as well. And while the deal obviously doesn’t have any long-term implications, it may potentially make it harder to extend Garrett Crochet in the near-term.

But money is boring and the Red Sox have plenty of it, so forget about all that. It’s baseball that’s fun. And this signing is far more interesting for what it means on the field. Alex Bregman is a very good player who is still capable of putting together All-Star level production, ergo the Red Sox have considerably more talent on the roster today than they did yesterday. But, nevertheless, this deal raises so, so many questions. Starting with the fact that we still don’t know what position he’s going to play!

The most likely answer is third base because — get this — Alex Bregman is a third baseman. But the Red Sox , as you may recall, already have a third baseman, one who is very, very good at one half of baseball, but very, very bad at the other. The best way to maximize the talent on the roster is probably to stick Bregman at third and make Rafael Devers the full-time DH. But that pushes Masataka Yoshida. . . somewhere? To the outfield? To another team? To the bench as history’s most expensive pinch-hitter? And if he goes to the outfield, then happens with Ceddanne Rafaela’s all-world glove? And what happens when Roman Anthony is ready? And does that just negate the defensive improvement the team made by getting Devers off the diamond?

Will the Sox shift Bregman up the defensive spectrum to second base instead? If so, then what happens when Kristian Campbell’s ready? And do you trade one of Vaughn Grissom or David Hamilton? And, you know, CAN ALEX BREGMAN EVEN PLAY SECOND BASE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!

So many questions, and I haven’t asked whether this move could lead to the departure of Triston Casas because, frankly, I’m not emotionally ready to contemplate that.

But, for now, I’m happy. The Boston Red Sox paid the fair market value for a good baseball player, and are a better baseball team as a result. Welcome to Boston Fort Myers, Alex.