Purple Sox followers who need Alex Bregman in Boston in all probability have began to lose hope. MLB’s offseason frenzy is within the rear-view mirror, and pitchers and catchers are lower than a month away from reporting to spring coaching.
Nonetheless, these members of the Fenway Trustworthy don’t should look too far again into staff historical past to comprehend a Bregman signing in all probability nonetheless is on the desk.
Let’s return to the 2017-18 offseason when J.D. Martinez was one of the crucial proficient gamers in the marketplace. Martinez was coming off an impressive second half of the season in Arizona, the place he hit a exceptional 29 house runs with 65 RBIs in solely 62 video games with the Diamondbacks. And after nearly single-handedly dragging the Snakes to a Nationwide League Division Collection, the veteran slugger was poised to be the belle of the ball in free company.
Nonetheless, groups didn’t champ on the bit to signal Martinez. The six-time All-Star lingered on the open market till late February when he signed a five-year, $110 million contract with the Purple Sox. And whereas it’s not an apples-to-apples comparability, there definitely are similarities between Martinez’s and Bregman’s conditions.
Let’s begin with age. Martinez was about six months away from his thirty first birthday when he put pen to paper in Boston. Bregman, in the meantime, will flip 31 when MLB kicks off the common season in late March. Famous person gamers sometimes nonetheless have lots left within the tank at that time in life, however golf equipment often are understandably hesitant to offer 30-year-old non-pitchers a contract that goes past 5 years.
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We additionally ought to maintain the negotiating gamers in thoughts. Bregman is represented by tremendous agent Scott Boras, who tends to tug out the free businesses of his shoppers with hopes of touchdown high greenback. You wish to take a wild guess of who suggested Martinez to remain in the marketplace for practically 4 months? It was Boras, after all.
The make-up is also fairly comparable. Martinez lengthy has been topped for being a hitting guru, and his experience paid dividends within the clubhouse all through his Purple Sox tenure. Bregman additionally has been praised for management abilities, and he has considerably extra playoff expertise than Martinez did when he signed with the Purple Sox.
And once more, this isn’t an ideal comparability. Martinez’s bat performed fantastically at Fenway Park and there was a chosen hitter slot available for him to occupy upon signing in Boston. Bregman, in the meantime, is an on a regular basis place participant who may pressure Alex Cora to make important lineup modifications if he joined the membership. Taking the diamond each sport theoretically additionally places Bregman’s sturdiness in jeopardy.
None of that is to say that Bregman is definitely sure for the Purple Sox, who nonetheless may use an infusion of high-end expertise with hopes of contending within the American League. It’s simply to say a possible signing seemingly nonetheless is a chance as a result of we noticed a reasonably comparable one not too way back.
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