The Red Sox have signed Alex Bregman to a three-year deal with opt outs, adding a proven third baseman that Evan Roberts believed the Yankees should sign despite his reputation among the fanbase.
With that signing, Evan says the greatest rivalry in sports is on the cusp of coming out of its power nap.
“The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees can hate each other once again,” Evan said. “For a while now, this rivalry has been dormant. Even in the 2021 Wild Card Game, it didn’t feel like the hate was there...but the Red Sox, bringing in a guy who Yankee fans do not like, I think this is the kind of move - I think it may take some time - but I think this is the signing that is going to make the Yankees and Red Sox hate each other again.
“Aaron Judge doesn’t care? He thinks he got hosed out of a championship...I don’t know what it takes for players to hate each other, but I know what it takes for Yankee and Red Sox fans to hate each other.”
By adding a player who Yankee fans hate, which also makes Boston undeniably better, Evan believes the rivalry will be renewed in 2025, to the point where a three-game set at Fenway in July will once again be appointment television, as for years the Astros or Orioles would have been seen as a more important series. But now, Evan sees Boston as potentially the team’s top competition in the American League, and that means the rivalry is back on.
The rivalry always needs a hate vessel, whether it be Manny Ramirez or David Ortiz, and Evan doesn’t believe the Red Sox have had that in a long time, even when they won a title in 2018. They now have it again in Bregman.
“Yankee fans don’t like Alex Bregman. He’s a cheater. They don’t like the guy,” Evan said. “But the real thing that can bring this rivalry back is that, for the first time in years, the Red Sox said ‘We’re ready to party’ and made a big move.
“Today, the Red Sox are the No. 1 contender...they went out and traded for Garrett Crochet, and just went out and got a guy that adds five wins to your team.”