Craig Breslow and Chaim Bloom must be getting close this offseason.

The two executives already have gotten two trades done between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. Could a third be on the way? It really would be a surprise. But The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal floated Nolan Arenado as an alternative if Alex Bregman leaves in free agency.

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“Finally, there is Arenado, who seemed ready to waive his no-trade clause for Boston last offseason, only to remain with the Cardinals when the Red Sox signed Bregman to his three-year, $120 million contract with an opt-out after one year,” Rosenthal wrote. “Arenado, who turns 35 in April, is in offensive decline and owed $37 million over the next two seasons. Maybe he would be energized playing at Fenway and reuniting with his old Colorado Rockies teammate Trevor Story. Or maybe he would just continue to fade.

Boston needs to get moving in free agency

“The answer for the Red Sox is Bregman. If not him, Bichette. And the way Breslow has operated this offseason, making one economically shrewd move after another, the Sox are in perfect position to strike. They have the money. Time to spend it.”

Is it 2024 again? Last offseason, the Red Sox were heavily linked to Bregman and Arenado. At the time, Boston was on Arenado’s reported five-team approved trade list. A year later, the idea really doesn’t make much sense any longer.

Boston and St. Louis have already swung two separate trades and Breslow noted on Monday that there’s “only so much you can dig” into your farm system. Boston has swung trades left and right throughout the offseason, but it hasn’t gotten a deal done in free agency. At this point, Boston should take a break from the trade block. Unless Bregman doesn’t want to return, there’s no reason for the Red Sox not to get him. They have plenty of cash at their disposal and he proved he can have success with the organization.

Arenado made sense last offseason. This offseason, not so much. Even if Bregman doesn’t return, there are other options, like Bo Bichette.

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