Alex Bregman on one of the reasons he took a short-term deal with the Red Sox: 'I think I just believe in my abilities'
The Red Sox introduced Alex Bregman to the media on Sunday morning after he signed a three-year, $120 million deal with two opt-outs this week.
Bregman was asked why he took a short-term deal from Boston when he had other offers on the table for more years and money.
“I think I just believe in my abilities,” Bregman said bluntly.
This was the first time Bregman had gone through the free agent process. Detroit reportedly offered a six-year, $171.5 million pact, the largest he had on the table. He also had a six-year, $156 million deal to go back to the Astros, where he played his entire career.
Bregman instead took a deferred deal with the Red Sox. The Bregman deal for Boston allows them to be competitive with him on a shorter-term deal while letting their younger players develop and slowly impact the 26-man roster.
It’s not often players turn down deals with more years and total dollars. Bregman opted to take the deal with the higher AAV ($40 million), while betting on himself for the next three seasons and keeping the door open to jump back into free agency.
“There’s some players you’d never do this for. With a guy like Alex Bregman, he is just built with an understanding of himself, his confidence,” said Bregman’s agent, Scott Boras.
“In Bregman’s case, the demand for his talent, his resume, and all of that, he got long-term offers, he got optionalities such as this contract we did with Boston, and he had to make a tough decision,” Boras said. “We’re talking about millions of dollars that he could have guaranteed, yet he chose to come here. Certainly, greater annual potentials, but he certainly sacrificed a lot of the guarantee to be a Red Sox."
Bregman’s deal comes with a $5 million signing bonus and a $35 million base salary for the 2025 season. For the purpose of the luxury tax, Bregman’s deal will be worth $31.70 million the next three years with money deferred.
“Certainly, I told John (Henry) and Tom (Werner) that I wanted the 10-year contract,” Boras laughed. “Always, in these settings, the dynamic is sometimes fluid. The main thing is this agreement allows for everyone to get to know one another.
“I can basically give the player optionality and some guarantee. The club, then, had an avenue not to often the long-term but then pursue the bridge contract with the understanding it allowed us time for discussion and opportunity to remain in the organization. If not, then move in another direction.”
With Bregman coming to the Red Sox, the club will lose the second-highest 2025 draft pick (second round No. 54 overall) and $500,000 in international bonus pool money. Boston will get a pick back after Nick Pivetta signed with the Padres last week.
“Players with qualifying offers that are 30 or so, you just see a quadrant of things getting done much later in the process because teams always pursue players in free agency that don’t have draft picks attached,” Boras said. “We’ve seen how the qualifying offer works for really young players. It doesn’t really matter much to them. But the metrics of how baseball operations work today is that they want to preserve their draft picks."
Bregman took a short-term deal in Boston because of the massive $40 million AAV, and it was a team he wanted to play for the next few years. The investment from the Red Sox to land Bregman helps in the short term, and it doesn’t necessarily block younger players like Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer from impacting the 26-man roster in the future. Boston hasn’t fully committed to where Bregman will play this season, leaving the door open for him to slide back to third base and carving a path for Campbell to play second base.
