How Red Sox Should Pivot After Max Fried Reportedly Lands With Yankees

The Boston Red Sox have found themselves on the outside looking in after losing bidding wars for Juan Soto and Max Fried to the New York Mets and New York Yankees, respectively.

Now is not the time for the Red Sox brass to reflect on what went wrong. Instead, Craig Breslow and company should pivot their resources and focus on acquiring some of the other targets they’ve been linked to over the past couple of days and weeks — and not just pitching.

With the options for starting pitchers quickly dwindling, the Red Sox should absolutely make an offer to Corbin Burnes, but Boston should also ramp up their efforts to land free agent slugger Teoscar Hernández.

With the Dodgers no longer “inevitable” to re-sign Hernández, the two-time All-Star, fresh off winning the Home Run Derby, would be a tremendous addition to the lineup. Hernández has “long been intrigued” by the idea of playing at Fenway Park and is a fan of Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Being able to land Hernández would help keep Breslow’s commitment to Red Sox Nation.

Even if Boston is able to sign Hernández, trading for Alex Bregman would bolster the lineup and defense in the infield.

Like Hernández, Bregman has quite the resume. He’s a two-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, as well as a recipient of the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards. Bregman is reportedly open to moving to second base, which the Red Sox desperately need to stabilize for the foreseeable future. The club has searched for seven seasons for a permanent second baseman, so why not Bregman?

Cora already has a relationship with Bregman from his time with the Houston Astros, and the Red Sox manager raved about the star infielder at the winter meetings on Monday.