The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have been making more trades of late, but there still have to be some limitations on what they’re willing to do to help each other out.
Before the 2024 season, the Red Sox sent the Yankees a starting outfielder in Alex Verdugo. In 2025, the Yankees gave the Red Sox their new starting catcher in Carlos Narváez. It’s been surprisingly impactful ongoing negotiation between two arch-enemies.
Now, the Red Sox are the ultimate wild card at the upcoming trade deadline. They moved on from superstar designated hitter Rafael Devers on Jun. 15, and they’ve got another superstar who could easily be gone in free agency this winter if they don’t trade him away.
Yes, it’s third baseman Alex Bregman, a long-time Yankee rival who tormented New York for years with the Houston Astros. But third base is also the first-place Yankees’ greatest need at this year’s deadline.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan named Bregman as the most impactful player who could be traded this season, though they assigned him only a 10 percent chance of being dealt. And they listed the Yankees as one of the “best fits” among potential buyers.
“Bregman has been an elite big league hitter since he entered the league in 2016 but has leaned more into power this year, with his highest isolated power since 2019,” McDaniel and Passan wrote.
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“Most of his underlying power indicators (barrel rate, maximum exit velo, average launch angle and hard hit rate) are at career highs. His $40 million salary — and the chance to opt into two more years at $40 million annually — significantly shortens the list of teams that would take on his deal.”
Bregman had a .938 OPS in 51 games before he hit the injured list with a quad strain last month. He should be back in advance of the All-Star break, and as long as he’s healthy, teams wouldn’t need to see him play before pushing their chips in to acquire him.
However, the idea of the Red Sox trading their new best player to their arch-rival only weeks after trading their former best player feels like fan fiction. It can’t be fully ruled out, but it’s unlikely the Yankees would be Boston’s first choice to send Bregman.
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