Alex Bregman is officially one-and-done in Boston.

Late Saturday night news broke that the free agent third baseman had agreed to a five-year, $175 million deal with the Chicago Cubs. The Red Sox were among a group of teams that had also made an offer to Bregman, but they were ultimately outbid.

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Now the three-time All-Star will take his talents to the Windy City, leaving the Red Sox with a sizable void both on the field and in the clubhouse.

While the Red Sox lineup as presently constructed is roughly on par with last year’s, it skews heavily left-handed and remains one bat short. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has been upfront about his desire to add another impact hitter, but few remain available who can match Bregman’s production and could plausibly elevate the club to true championship contention.

No matter how you slice it Bregman’s departure is a big blow to the organization, and at this stage in the offseason, the Red Sox’s options are limited.

Who could Sox still add?

With Bregman off the market, there is now only one premier free agent infielder remaining on the market, longtime Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette.

At 27 years old, Bichette is four years younger than Bregman and has ranked among the game’s top contact hitters ever since he debuted for the Blue Jays in 2019. Bichette has a .294 career average and has twice led the American League in hits, and while he’s missed time due to injuries in each of the last three seasons, he’s coming off a strong 2025 campaign for a Toronto club that came within an out of winning the World Series.

This past season Bichette batted .311 with 18 home runs, 94 RBI and an .840 OPS, and after missing the last month of the season with a sprained knee, he returned for the World Series and batted .348 with a .923 OPS in the seven-game series.

While Bichette is regarded as a poor defensive shortstop, he held his own playing second base in the World Series — the first time he’d ever played the position as a big leaguer. Bichette has also reportedly signaled a willingness to switch to second full-time, making him a much better fit for a Red Sox club that already has Trevor Story locked into the shortstop role.

The problem for Boston is that if Bregman just landed a deal worth $35 million annually heading into his age 32 season, Bichette will almost certainly demand at least that much over a longer period. Would the Red Sox be willing to offer Bichette a seven-year, $245 million contract? History suggests they won’t, but that might be what it will take.

If not Bichette, the only other free agent infielder who would fit is former Seattle Mariners slugger Eugenio Suarez. He hits for more power than Bichette and is coming off a 49-homer season, but he offers a less well-rounded skillset and at 34 would only represent a short-term addition.

The Red Sox could potentially also add another bat via trade, though Breslow said Saturday that free agency would be the preferred route at this point.

“We’re going to do everything we possibly can to add more offense,” Breslow said. “Really difficult to say exactly what that looks like because it’s not just a decision we can make alone, but we’re going to continue to look for ways to improve the team.”

Internal options

If the Red Sox don’t make any further additions to the infield, the third base job would appear to be Marcelo Mayer’s to lose.

The longtime top prospect made his long-awaited MLB debut last May after Bregman went down with a quad strain that wound up sidelining him for nearly two months. Mayer performed well defensively, but the rookie faced growing pains at the plate and notably struggled to hit left-handed pitching.

Mayer has also dealt with injuries throughout his professional career, and in late July he suffered what wound up being a season-ending wrist sprain. It marked the third consecutive season Mayer finished the year on the injured list, and until the 23-year-old can make it through a full season, he will face questions about his durability.

As for second base, the top contender to start right now would likely be Romy Gonzalez. The utility standout effectively served as a full-time starter for most of last season due to injuries, but ideally he’ll come off the bench and help fill the void left by Rob Refsnyder the club’s go-to lefty killer.

Other infield candidates currently on the 40-man roster include Kristian Campbell, Nate Eaton, Nick Sogard, David Hamilton and newcomer Tristan Gray.

Devers looms large

Beyond disappointment over losing a talented player, Bregman’s departure in free agency has also re-ignited discussion among fans surrounding the Red Sox’s handling of Rafael Devers.

At this time last January Devers was entering the second year of his 10-year, $313.5 million contract, the largest in franchise history. Devers had previously been assured that the third base job would be his, and he felt blindsided when the Red Sox wound up signing Bregman on the eve of spring training without giving him any kind of heads up.

That prompted months of drama and bad feelings, which all played out in public view and culminated with the Red Sox trading Devers to the San Francisco Giants in what amounted to a salary dump.

Now with Bregman gone, the Red Sox are left with neither.

When the Devers trade was announced the expectation was that Devers’ money would be re-invested into the roster. Roughly half of that $254 million has since been given to Roman Anthony, who signed an eight-year, $130 million extension later in the summer.

It would have been fitting if the Red Sox had given the rest to Bregman, affirming his place as the club’s starting third baseman for the rest of the decade. Instead, the club finds itself back at square one and once again facing criticism for failing to close the deal with a top free agent.