Yankees should keep a close eye on Red Sox as high-profile rumors continue to swirl

The New York Yankees have led the way in the AL East this offseason in regard to transactions and high-profile activity, while the Boston Red Sox have remained a distant second place, only garnering headlines for their perceived "interest" that hardly materializes.

Red Sox fans have complained about that for years, but at least this time around they went out and acquired Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler. That objectively makes them better.

Boston has plenty of other needs, too, and some are in line with the Yankees'. These teams have already competed for Buehler, Max Fried and Juan Soto, among others, and there are still other names out there linked to both clubs.

As of right now, the Yankees remain loosely linked to third basemen Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado. Trusted Yankees insiders maintain both remain rather unlikely, but Arenado, despite the chatter, is not happening whatsoever.

Coincidentally, even though the Red Sox have a franchise third baseman in Rafael Devers, they're also connected to the two veterans, which should have the Yankees on high alert. Bregman would be a massive get for Boston while also subtracting another impact addition from the Yankees, while Arenado would be a scary fit at Fenway Park, even if New York has no interest in the eight-time All-Star.

Yankees Rumors: Red Sox circling Nolan Arenado, Alex Bregman?

In either scenario, Red Sox insiders speculate Devers would move to first base to accommodate either of the two, and Triston Casas would be traded to upgrade elsewhere on the roster. Objectively, that would make the Red Sox a better team and in some way make the Yankees' lives more difficult.

Then again ... how much can this be trusted? The Red Sox have finished worse than second place for most marquee free agents, which makes a Bregman fit feel far from a sure thing. As for Arenado, the Sox have been incredibly cautious about adding aging players with sizable financial commitments (Arenado has $52 million and three years remaining on his current contract).

Additionally, as we've learned, the longer the Red Sox wait, the more their interest proves to be a charade (either that, or they eventually fall short). Think about it. It's already January and they're considering making a drastic change in their infield involving the face of their franchise? Because ... why? They expect Alex Bregman's price to go down? They expect the Cardinals to eat money on Arenado's contract?

From what we've seen, the waiting game typically does not pay off for big-market teams. Look at the Dodgers. Even with their pedigree after winning a World Series, they've still been forced to remain aggressive with players like Blake Snell, Teoscar Hernandez and Hyesong Kim. The Yankees had to overbid to get Fried. The Mets paid an historic amount of money for Juan Soto. The Giants jumped the line to sign Willy Adames for $182 million before the winter meetings. And even with somone like Corbin Burnes signing late, he still got what he wanted in terms of money and location.

It's never easy to see the Red Sox's name in potential roster-altering rumors, but what have they done recently outside of the Crochet trade that has made the Yankees worry? They started dipping into their premier farm system before spending money, which pretty much says it all.

That said, we'd love for the Yankees to at least win the Bregman sweepstakes if it's indeed down to these two. That'll really knock the Red Sox back a few years.