"I think it's going to be great. I'm glad it happened because it'll be good for the Sox and I think Alex will love it there," Swihart said. "This goes back a long time, that relationship."
In 2011, the Red Sox sent amateur scouting director Amiel Sawdaye and area scout Matt Mahoney to see Swihart play during his senior season at V. Sue Cleveland High in Rio Rancho.
He was intentionally walked four times, so arrangements were made for Swihart to take batting practice on another field.
Bregman, then an undersized junior infielder at Albuquerque Academy, was invited along for what would be his first workout for pro scouts.
The Sox were impressed with both players, enough that they took Swihart with their first-round pick that June. But Bregman broke his middle finger on a bad-hop grounder and missed his senior season.
The Sox selected Bregman in the 29th round of the 2012 draft but spent their bonus pool on other players. Bregman went to LSU and developed into the second pick of the 2015 draft.
Swihart made his major league debut with the Sox in 2015, a year before Bregman did with the Astros.
Now Bregman is with the Sox, having agreed to a three-year, $120 million deal last week.
"I think he'll be like [Dustin] Pedroia, the same kind of energy," Swihart said. "On and off the field, they're very similar. Alex thinks a lot about the game has that same competitiveness as Dustin. Knowing him and knowing [Alex] Cora, it's going to be a great thing for the Sox.
"Alex is the type of person, on and off the field, who wants to help you. If it's something with baseball or something personal, he's going to help you out. and be there to talk to. He's somebody who has always been there for me."
Swihart, 32, played for the Sox from 2015-19. He appeared in 82 games for the 2018 team and three more in the postseason.
He was an athletic switch-hitter who could play multiple positions and steal a base on occasion. But Swihart's career was hampered by injuries including a severely sprained left ankle in 2016 when he collided with the side wall in left field at Fenway Park trying to make a catch.
In what was a surprise at the time, Swihart was designated for assignment early in the 2019 season and traded to Arizona.
He appeared in 31 games for the Diamondbacks and became a free agent at the end of the season. He spent the 2021 season with the Nationals in Triple A then played in an independent league in 2022.
Swihart signed with a team in the Mexican League last May but asked for his release a few weeks later for family reasons.
"My grandfather passed away and we found out my wife was pregnant," he said. "I had to be with my family."
There are no regrets -- "I made it to the majors and I have a World Series ring," he said -- but Swihart still hasn't given up on baseball.
"I'm healthy and I know I could still play," he said. "But I need to take care of my family."
Swihart is the New Mexico representative of a company that installs artificial turf fields, basketball courts, tracks, and other athletic playing surfaces. The oldest of his three sons is 5 and he's eager to teach him baseball.
Sawdaye, now a senior vice president of the Diamondbacks, mentioned the idea of getting back into uniform as a coach. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo also pitched the idea.
But Swihart isn't ready for that quite yet.
"I think I'd have something to offer but being home now is important," he said. "We'll see what happens."
Swihart hasn't been back to Fenway Park since '19 but said there is as a chance he could make a trip to see Bregman play for the Sox. It would bring back a flood of memories, good and bad.
"I'm glad for Alex," he said. "We're still good friends and our wives are friends. I ran into his mom just the other day. I'm excited to see what he's going to do for the Sox.