Does Alex Bregman to Red Sox reopen Mariners’ trade paths? – Seattle Sports

BROCK AND SALKFeb 13, 2025, 12:27 PM
BY

ZAC HERETH

Seattle SportsOne of the final big names left in free agency is finally off the board after third baseman Alex Bregman and the Boston Red Sox reportedly agreed to a three-year deal Wednesday night.What landing No. 3 pick means for Seattle Mariners’ draft strategyCould that domino falling mean something for the Seattle Mariners? Mike Salk broke it down Thursday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.“Everybody else that we talked about this offseason had finally signed somewhere else, and Alex Bregman was the one guy left,” Salk said. “And I don’t think anybody was holding out hope that he was coming to Seattle. The question was much more so once he signs where he’s going to sign, does that free up options and opportunities to maybe make a trade – either with that team or with a team that felt like they missed out (on Bregman) and wants to go in a different direction?”Salk focused on two teams the Mariners have been linked to having trade talks with over the offseason: the Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, who were reported as heavily pursuing Bregman along with Boston. After signing Bregman, the Red Sox now have a surplus of infielders. Meanwhile, the Cubs could be a team looking to pivot their plans after missing out on the third baseman.Most of the offseason conversation surrounding a potential Mariners-Cubs trade centered around second baseman Nico Hoerner as a target for Seattle. However, without Bregman, the Cubs don’t have an overabundance of infielders. They already traded third baseman Isaac Paredes to the Astros to free up a spot in the lineup for top prospect Matt Shaw.“I don’t know that they’ve got the infielder that the Cubs need that they wanted in Bregman,” Salk said of the Mariners. “… I don’t really see how you match up nearly as well now with the Cubs. If they were going to do it, I think they would have done it. But maybe they kind of had placeholder money set aside for Bregman. Maybe they want to use that for Luis Castillo and there’s a way to do it where you acquire Nico Hoerner, but honestly to me, the value in a deal like that now is significantly less.”Salk also pointed out that the deal doesn’t really make sense for the Mariners anymore, either.“Part of the reason you would be even willing to trade Castillo for Hoerner would be to save money and then use that money somewhere else,” Salk said. “When I went through this as an option a few weeks ago, the idea was use that to sign (Mets first baseman) Pete Alonso or someone like him. Well, those guys are gone, so I don’t think I could sit here and tell you it would be a great idea to trade with the Cubs for Nico Hoerner – unless for some reason they just wanted to take prospects, and I don’t see that happening.”The Mariners were linked to trade talks this offseason with Boston for first baseman Triston Casas, as well. Bringing in Bregman means the Red Sox have a surplus of corner infielders with Rafael Devers already at third base and Casas at first, but they seemed to have that figured out as Bregman is reportedly expected to move to second base.With Bregman’s position move in mind and the fact that the Mariners wouldn’t have a big bat to go after in free agency with the money saved in a Castillo trade, Salk said a deal for Casas would only seem to make sense if the Red Sox were looking to bring in prospects. One reason they could look to do that would be because signing Bregman, who was given a qualifying offer by the Astros, means Boston will lose a future draft pick.“If there were conversations a couple weeks to a couple months ago, there’s no reason they couldn’t pick back up given that the landscape changed one last time,” Salk said. “But I wouldn’t bank on this being the catalyst for a deal that brings other talent here to Seattle.”Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.• Three stretches in schedule could define the Seattle Mariners’ season
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Source: https://sports.mynorthwest.com/brock-and-salk/seattle-mariners-trades-alex-bregman-signing/1799551