The Boston Red Sox stand alone as the only MLB team to not sign a free agent to a major league contract.
The Rockies were also one of those teams, but that changed Wednesday when Colorado signed veteran pitcher Michael Lorenzen to a one-year deal.
The Red Sox have made several trades this winter including acquiring Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo, but have yet to make a splash on a free agent.
Boston missed out on Pete Alonso, who signed with the Baltimore Orioles, and Kyle Schwarber, who returned to the Philadelphia Phillies, but they’ve also been connected to other free agents including Bo Bichette and Alex Bregman.
Bregman opted out of the final two years of his deal with the Red Sox in November. The two sides have remained engaged with one another over the offseason, but no deal has been reached as of yet.
Boston has reportedly “signaled a willingness to pay him big money,” potentially a six-year, $171.5 million deal — similar to the one the Detroit Tigers offered Bregman last season before he ultimately signed with the Red Sox.
Sources told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo over the weekend that the Red Sox remain engaged with Bregman and his agents, but they’re also assessing others like Bichette.
Bichette has other suitors including the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees.
The 27-year-old Bichette would fill a hole for the Red Sox given he’s a right-handed bat who can play second base and shortstop.
Bregman expressed the desire to sign a contract that would bring him to the end — or at least close to — of his career. Whether the Red Sox want to commit term and money to the third baseman will depend on their willingness to spend potentially past the second CBT (competitive balance tax) of $264 million.