Sep 23, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) hits a RBI single against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images David Banks-Imagn Images
The Boston Red Sox left little doubt throughout the week during the general manager meetings. They want a big-time bat and don’t care who knows it.
Boston didn’t shy away from this idea in the slightest. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow specifically talked about the need for the organization.
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“I think someone who is a threat who can hit in the middle of the order, can lengthen our lineup, is going to be something we’re going to pursue,” Breslow said. “That is absolutely a path to improving our team. … And there’s just something about an at-bat in the middle of the lineup that forces another team to game plan against it, that I think has a compounding effect on the rest of the roster. We didn’t slug nearly as much as I think we can or we will, and we’ll pursue opportunities to improve that.”
The two names thrown around the most for Boston have been Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber. On Thursday, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo had an interesting report saying that some in the organization prefer Alonso.
“Having Alonso as a DH option would also give some runway to Triston Casas, who remains a high-upside option despite his struggles to stay healthy over the past two seasons,” Cotillo said. “Casas is expected to be fully recovered from his knee injury by Opening Day but Breslow has stopped short of guaranteeing him the starting spot at first base.
“Alonso — who has hit 195 homers for the Mets in the last five seasons — is likely more attractive to the Red Sox as someone who is willing to take DH at-bats and increase roster flexibility for Alex Cora. There are mixed signals, though, about the club’s interest. At the outset of the offseason, a well-connected industry source with knowledge of Boston’s thinking didn’t think the Red Sox would be a major player for Alonso. This week, however, word is there are some in the club’s inner circle that prefer Alonso to Kyle Schwarber, the other top offensive free agent who projects to be exclusively a DH in 2026. Alonso doesn’t have a qualifying offer (and draft pick compensation) attached to him like Schwarber does.”
Now, that’s interesting. The Mets star is coming off a season with 38 homers and 126 RBIs in 162 games played. Plus, as a right-handed bat, he would do damage at Fenway Park. But, could that end a pursuit of a reunion with Alex Bregman? That might not be the case, per Breslow and shared by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith.
“We could,” Breslow said as transcribed by Smith about adding two hitters. “I think we’re going to be open to every conceivable path to improving the team. Specifically what that looks like or who the names are that fill those roles, I think we’ll see how the offseason plays out.”
Wouldn’t that be something? A lineup featuring both Bregman and Alonso would absolutely make Boston one of the top contenders in the American League.
With the offseason here for the New York Yankees and other teams around Major League Baseball, there are plenty of factors that have to be considered.
For the Yankees, what they want to do with Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger is at the top of that list.
Bellinger is one of the top players on the free agency market, while Grisham was given a qualifying offer as the Yankees hope to keep him back for at least another season.
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, it remains uncertain at the moment what Grisham is going to do, but he reported that he was comfortable in New York and believes that he can replicate his 2025 success because of the changes he made to improve his offensive game.
“A year ago, the New York Yankees weren’t even certain they would offer Grisham a contract. They did, but Grisham accepted a pay cut from $5.5 million to $5 million — and then responded with 34 homers, double his previous best, and a career-high .811 OPS…
“Grisham was comfortable in New York and is said to be confident he can replicate his 2025 performance because of changes he made at the plate and in his mental approach. If interested teams agree with that assessment, he could warrant a healthy multiyear deal,” he wrote.
If there’s any reason for the Yankees to be worried about Grisham, it’s the fact that he’s never done what he did a year ago throughout any other part of his career.
There was a strong argument to be made that Grisham was among the top outfielders in baseball offensively.
Still, there’s a possibility that he never has that type of success at the plate again due to prior indications.