The Boston Red Sox wanted Alex Bregman back.
But in the end, Bregman signed a five-year, $175 million deal with the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night, and Boston needs a replacement.
Enter Bo Bichette.
Bichette is the free agent shortstop from the Toronto Blue Jays. He's expected to move off that position to play either second base or third base.
If Bichette joined the Red Sox, it'd be to play third base and replace Bregman.
And on Saturday night, after the signing, USA Today's Bob Nightengale posted this on X:
"The Boston Red Sox will now turn their sights to Bo Bichette."
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It won't necessarily be easy. The Blue Jays are believed to want him back. There could be other teams in on him that missed out on Bregman, too, like the Diamondbacks or Tigers.
But the chance to sign Bichette will certainly appeal to the Red Sox.
Not only is he one of the best base-hitters in baseball. He's also coming from an AL East Division rival. Given that that's the toughest division in MLB, any chance to hurt a counterpart while improving your own roster is a great one to take.
It's not obvious from Nightengale's post if he expects Bichette to move quickly now that the Bregman deal is done.
But what it does suggest is that the bidding will get intense now. Boston lost a guy and wants to get a new one in his place. Look out here, because Bichette is officially a crucial commodity out of the free agent market.
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