Red Sox Predicted To Re-Sign Alex Bregman, Per Ken Rosenthal
The story of the offseason for the Boston Red Sox is whether or not they will be able to re-sign Alex Bregman.
No matter what else the club does, whatever happens with Bregman will overshadow the other moves. If they can bring him back to town, everyone will be happy. If Bregman walks, the fanbase will not be too pleased unless Boston makes a few wild moves in his place.
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Ken Rosenthal hyped up the Red Sox
Boston already has made a good move by acquiring Sonny Gray. But, again, the Bregman decision will overshadow everything else. Fortunately, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal added some positive fuel to the fire on Wednesday. He was asked on "Foul Territory" about Bregman and said that he expects the three-time All-Star to return to Boston, although he noted that free agency is wild and anything could happen.
"I expect him to be back in Boston," Rosenthal said on "Foul Territory." "In free agency when you say something like this, you're playing with fire because in free agency things happen that you never expect. I say this all the time. It's actually true about all transactions. None of these trades that have happened so far were anticipated by anyone. Free agency can be wild. With Bregman, it was such a good fit. He was so perfect for them. Now, he's going to be perfect in the estimation of other clubs as well and all it takes is one to obviously take him away, but man, he's really the right guy for the Red Sox."
Rosenthal is one of the top insiders in baseball. If he thinks Bregman is going to ultimately return to Boston, that should at least be enough to give the fanbase some hope in the short term. Nothing really matters until a deal is actually signed. A team could always make a wild offer and pull him away -- as the San Diego Padres did by offering Xander Bogaerts a wild $280 million deal -- but stay positive, Red Sox fans. This is the type of update that is a best-case scenario at this time of the offseason.
Lions Do Not Activate Former Second-Round Pick, Ending Season
The Detroit Lions did not activate a former second-round pick within his 21-day return to practice window, thus ending his season.
Defensive end Josh Paschal was listed as out for Thursday's game and was not activated from the Non-Football Injury list. Because he returned to practice Nov. 5, his 21-day window to return expired Wednesday.
NFL rules indicate that players have 21 days to return to practice while on an injury list, and if they do not return within that span then they revert back to their injury list for the remainder of the season. Paschal will officially be sidelined for the remainder of the year, and his 2025 season ends without an appearance in a regular season game.
This season was a pivotal one for the 2022 second-round pick, as he is in the final year of his rookie contract. He was originally placed on the NFI list ahead of the start of training camp, and recently revealed that it was because of back surgery.
Detroit was taking it slow with his recovery for precautionary purposes, but evidently didn't see enough to activate the defender prior to the expiration of the allotted time.
"It's a back (injury) is what it is, and there again, he is improving," Campbell said in late October. "We're trying to be smart and take it as far as we can. He's got a few more things to show us before we're ready to open the window for him to practice."
Injuries have been an unfortunate theme in Paschal's professional career. He missed most of training camp during his rookie season with a hernia, and has yet to play a full season. In 36 career games, Paschal has 62 combined tackles, five sacks, 12 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
The Kentucky product has an inspiring story, as he beat stage 3B acral lentiginous melanoma in his foot during his collegiate career and was a multi-year captain for the Wildcats.
Paschal was the 46th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Lions' draft class from that year also includes Aidan Hutchinson, Jameson Williams, Kerby Joseph and Malcolm Rodriguez.
Paschal was listed among five players ruled out and eight players ruled questionable in Detroit's final injury report prior to their Thanksgiving matchup with the Green Bay Packers. Two key defenders were ruled questionable, as both Marcus Davenport and Terrion Arnold could return to action Thursday.
