Walker Buehler is recruiting top free agent to Red Sox

Oct 2, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Walker Buehler during a press conference before a team workout at Dodgers Stadium. Buehler is the National League Divisional game 1 starter against the Washington Nationals. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Walker Buehler is already hard at work trying to bring one top free agent to the Boston Red Sox.

Buehler admitted Friday that he has started trying to recruit free agent third baseman Alex Bregman to Boston. Though Buehler and Bregman have never played together at the MLB level, the pitcher said they are good friends and played together on Team USA in college.

“I have certainly made a pitch all over the place for him to come to Boston,” Buehler said, via Thomas Gamba-Ellis of the New York Post. “He and I have been buddies for a long time. We played on Team USA together a little bit in college.”

The two are even in business together, as they have a shared interest in horse racing and are co-owners of a racehorse.

“I got involved in this horse and there was more of the horse that could have been purchased, so, he was the one guy I called and he opted in,” Buehler explained, “The horse won in Santa Anita in its first time with us.”

In other words, Buehler is clearly well-positioned to make the pitch. The Red Sox have been named as a potential landing spot for Bregman, so this is a realistic possibility.

Bregman is the most prominent free agent bat left on the market and is coming off a season that saw him hit .260 with 26 home runs. The Red Sox would presumably move Rafael Devers to first if they got him, though it is unclear how aggressive they will be, particularly after spending a good amount of money to sign Buehler in the first place.