As they look to complete their offseason upgrade by adding a right-handed bat, the Boston Red Sox appear to be playing a game of chicken with the most sought-after righty hitter still available on the free agent market. Alex Bregman, the Houston Astros’ third baseman for both of its World Series championships, in 2017 and 2022, entered free agency reportedly expecting offers of a $200 million contract.
Bregman declined a $156 million, six year contract extension from the Astros, according to a Houston Chronicle report. Now the 30-year-old 2024 Gold Glove winner finds himself three months into free agency with just over three weeks until the start of spring training and he has yet to receive an offer that meets his standards, leaving him a man without a team as camps around MLB get ready to open.
The Chronicle also reported that Bregman’s agent, Scott Boras, has engaged in “casual” talks with the Chicago Cubs, but those talks have centered around a shorter deal â “a three-year contract with opt-outs after each of the first two seasons.”
Red Sox Reportedly Make Bregman 3-Year Contract Offer
One baseball insider and former Major Leaguer who played a season in Boston reported this week that the Red Sox are making a serious attempt to sign Bregman, but with a shorter contract than he is reportedly expecting. Carlos Baerga, now a Spanish-language broadcaster and podcast host, who played the 2002 season for the Red Sox, said Monday on his podcast Me Gustan Los Deportes (aka I Like Sports) that the Red Sox are “going hard” to sign Bregman.
“I found out today that also, Boston is going hard at Bregman, but not for five years, but three,” Baerga said on the podcast. “Here is the problem that is happening. Three and one more option is what is happening. I do not know if it’s that Soto has put fear to all the owners, but now it seems that 3 years is what they want to give.”
Baerga was referring to the 15-year, $765 million contract handed to slugger Juan Soto by the New York Mets, as what might have “put fear” into owners who now, he said, are willing only to offer short-term deals.
No team would make a better home for Bregman that the Red Sox, baseball experts say, because the former second-overall draft pick in 2015 answers multiple questions for Boston. The team needs answer because its top brass has pledged a return to the playoffs after a three-year absence, and only one postseason bid since the team’s World Series-winning year of 2018.
Boston Drafted Bregman in 2012, but he Opted For LSU
In fact, the Red Sox were the first team to draft Bregman, picking him 2012’s 29th round (901st overall) out of Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico. But Bregman chose to attend Louisiana State University instead, where he saw his draft stock skyrocket.
“Bregman has been heavily tied to the Red Sox this offseason and it’s not hard to see why,” wrote Patrick McAvoy for Sports Illustrated, saying that not only does Bregman provide “right-handed pop,” but he also “would provide some flexibility for Boston. There have been rumblings that he could play second base in 2025. He’s a great third baseman, but moving him to second base for the 2025 season would secure the position after years of question marks.”
So why wouldn’t the Red Sox just pay Bregman the $200 million he is asking and be done with it? Like the Cubs, they seem reluctant to hand out long term deals, preferring shorter contracts with opt-out clauses, minimizing the team’s financial commitments and risk.
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