Alex Bregman’s second-half surge is the kind of run that makes a front office decision age badly in a hurry.
The Chicago Cubs third baseman got off to a quiet start this season, putting up a .241/.336/.359 line with nine home runs over 94 games before the All-Star break. Since then, though, he’s looked like one of the game’s most dangerous infielders again. As of September 4, Bregman is hitting .300/.365/.622 in the second half while still bringing his elite defense every night.
The power has come in bursts, too. August turned into a showcase for just how hard he’s been driving the ball, with three multi-homer games in the month. He went deep three times against the Washington Nationals on August 12, launched two against the Seattle Mariners on August 21, and then finished August with another three-homer outburst against the Milwaukee Brewers.
That kind of production would have played very well in Boston, especially with the way Bregman has been using left field. All but four of his 24 home runs this season have gone that way, and his ability to lift the ball to that part of the park would have fit the Green Monster perfectly, just as it did in 2025.
The Red Sox haven’t exactly been left empty-handed. Caleb Durbin settled in and became one of the club’s best hitters, helping erase a lot of the sting after Bregman left following the 2025 season for Chicago in free agency. Durbin has been a major part of Boston’s big July and August stretch, and through 134 games he’s batting .250/.327/.384 with 22 doubles, a triple, 12 home runs, 62 RBI and 17 stolen bases.
Still, the gap in power is hard to ignore. Bregman has twice as many home runs as Durbin, and he’s done it while playing half his games at Wrigley Field, a park that doesn’t suit him nearly as well as Fenway Park did.
Bregman and the Cubs will make their final trip to Boston for the last series of the year, and that return to Fenway should draw plenty of attention if he keeps swinging like this. He was a leader and fan favorite on the 2025 Red Sox, but there’s no guarantee the crowd will welcome him warmly after he opted out of two years of a lucrative deal with Boston.
If he strings together another big night in Boston, especially another multi-homer game, the regret from his departure could come rushing right back. Since June, Durbin has given the Red Sox exactly what they needed. But Bregman’s heater in Chicago has reopened the old question in Boston: what if they had kept him?
In Other News...
Red Sox Pitching Depth Gets An Intriguing Boost From Monegros Return
Yordanny Monegros return on Aug. 28 gave the Red Sox system a reason to pay attention again, especially in a pitching pipeline that can always use another arm with real upside. After missing more than a year following Tommy John surgery, the right-hander stepped back into a High-A game and looked the part right away, working 1 2/3 innings without allowing a hit or a run while striking out three.
The command was not spotless, with three walks, but the larger takeaway for Boston is the simple fact that Monegro is pitching again after a long layoff. Before the injury, he had already shown promising results at High-A and Double-A with solid run prevention and encouraging strikeout and walk numbers, which is why his first outing back matters as more than just a rehab checkpoint. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Suddenly Face A Rafaela Problem At The Worst Time
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To help cover the vacancy, the Red Sox recalled Nate Eaton from Triple-A Worcester, adding a player with some infield-outfield flexibility while Rafaela works his way back. He is expected to be eligible to return on Sept. 13, though the exact timetable still depends on how the injury responds, which makes the next stretch worth watching closely for a team trying to keep its momentum intact. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Pitching Depth Could Get A Huge Late Boost
Patrick Corbins season has hit another dead end, with Blue Jays manager John Schneider confirming the veteran left-hander is unlikely to pitch again in 2026 because of a teres major strain. Corbin was initially placed on the 15-day injured list in July before being moved to the 60-day IL in August, and the latest update closes the door on any meaningful late return as clubs continue sorting through September injury news across the league.
For the Red Sox, the broader injury picture still matters because their own pitching depth remains a live issue, with Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck and Johan Oviedo all part of the latest round of updates. Boston can use every bit of clarity it gets this time of year, especially when the rotation and bullpen are being managed around health as much as performance, even if the bigger question on Corbin simply wont be answered soon. [Read more 🡒]