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It sure seemed like as soon as the Boston Red Sox signed Alex Bregman, that cemented Nolan Arenado’s return to the Cardinals. The idea of the Red Sox as a viable landing spot for Arenado kept alive the possibility that the Cardinals might still execute the trade — sending Arenado to a contending team — that president of baseball operations John Mozeliak declared was his aim back in December.

As the Red Sox enter the early stages of their new relationship with Bregman, it only becomes more clear that Arenado couldn’t provide the fit that Bregman will for the Red Sox. Perhaps a deal with the Cardinals gave the Red Sox a backup plan, a bit of a safety net in case things went sideways with Bregman.

With the benefit of hindsight, it looks like the Cardinals and Arenado were simply a means to the end the Red Sox always truly coveted: Bregman in a Red Sox uniform. Discussions and due diligence are part of the duty of a front office, but leverage plays a key role in any negotiation and the Cardinals ultimately served that purpose for the Red Sox.

Any of us Cardinals followers who eyed Boston as a prime landing spot for Arenado now have egg on our faces. On the surface, the profile of a right-handed-hitting third baseman with pull-side power applies to both Bregman and Arenado.

Upon review, everything from Bregman’s potential fit in the lineup to the reported structure of his deal to the comments of the principals involved in getting that deal done tells one story. Bregman was always the fit the Red Sox needed.

Take for example the way Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow described Bregman in the introductory news conference with reporters over the weekend in Florida. Breslow made sure not to attach a position to Bregman. He described him as an “infielder� and an “elite defender.� Breslow avoided designating Bregman as a third baseman, the position where Bregman won a Gold Glove last season, or even a second baseman, the position where Bregman had been rumored to shift if he joined the Red Sox.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora also declined to categorize Bregman as one position or the other when speaking to reporters in Florida.

That ambiguity became even more striking Monday when the Red Sox starting third baseman, three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner Rafael Devers, spoke with reporters at Red Sox camp.

Reporters asked Devers, who signed an 11-year, $330 million extension to be the club’s homegrown franchise cornerstone prior to the 2023 season, about potentially moving off of third base to serve as the designated hitter. He offered a clear one-word response:

“N´Ç.â€�

In case there was any ambiguity in his comment among the assembled media there, he added, “I play third.�

Bregman took a deferential stance when he was asked, saying, “I just want to play wherever helps the team win. I’ll leave that decision to (Alex Cora), and I’ll just try to do whatever he tells me to do and try to be there every single day.�

Herein lies the important difference the Red Sox sought and got in Bregman: He gives them flexibility, having appeared in 129 games as a shortstop, with his ability to play in the middle of the diamond.

That’s probably another reason the Red Sox made such a hard push for Bregman, whose agent, Scott Boras, said not only Breslow but owners John Henry and Tom Werner were constantly active in the dialogue around leading up to the signing.

Arenado’s likely pivot off of third base, had the Red Sox tried to go that route, would have been first base. The problem with that is that the Red Sox have a young, homegrown, power-hitting first baseman they like in Triston Casas, who isn’t even eligible for arbitration until next year. Their designated hitter spot also appears filled by Masataka Yoshida, who is signed through 2027.

Arenado’s presence would’ve created a logjam, and it might even have necessitated another trade to clear up.

On top of that, the reported details of Bregman’s contract allows the Red Sox to spread out the money counted against the club’s luxury tax in a way that makes it comparable to Arenado’s deal despite the gaudy average annual value on the Bregman pact.

According to The Associated Press, Bregman’s three-year, $120 million deal includes $60 million deferred, set to be paid out from 2035-46.

Compared to the three years and $64 million remaining (minus $10 million the Colorado Rockies will pay) on Arenado’s deal, Bregman offered a younger option with more positional flexibility. Let’s not forget that the Red Sox didn’t have to give up anything aside from money. They didn’t lose a prospect as likely would have been the case in a trade with the Cardinals.

There’s also the possibility that Bregman opts out of his contract after this season or next and the Red Sox are free from the deal all together.

We may never fully know exactly how much the Cardinals front office had hinged its trade hopes on the Red Sox, but those of us observing from the outside sure got taken for a ride. We should’ve known all along the ride ended with Bregman in a duck boat touring Boston.