Red Sox sign Alex Bregman to a 3-year, $120 million deal (report)
The Red Sox finally made a big splash in free agency.
Boston is in agreement with free agent infielder Alex Bregman on a three-year, $120 million contract with opt-out clauses after both the first and second seasons, according to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome.
The $40 million AAV is $10 million more than any other team was offering Bregman. The deal will also include deferred money. According to numerous reports, the Tigers offered Bregman six years, $171 million; the Astros offered a six-year, $156 million; and the Cubs offered a four-year, $120 million deal.
The Red Sox will surrender a draft pick for signing Bregman, who rejected the $21.05 qualifying offer from the Astros. Boston will lose its second-highest pick for signing him and will forfeit $500,000 of international signing bonus pool allocation.
Entering the day on Wednesday, the Red Sox payroll was approximately $216 million, $25 million below the first luxury tax threshold, according to @RedSoxPayroll on X. That number will certainly be higher, but it's still not known how much of Bregman's salary will be deferred by the Red Sox.
The move reunites Bregman with Alex Cora, who was with the infielder when he was a coach with the Astros in 2017.
Bregman’s right-handed bat is exactly what their lineup needed, owning a .375 batting average with seven homers and 15 RBI in 21 career games at Fenway Park. He also owns a career 1.240 OPS at Fenway Park, which is the best in Major League history among players who have at least 90 plate appearances. Bregman effectively replaces Tyler O’Neill, who left in free agency and signed with division rival Baltimore Orioles.
With Rafael Devers penciled in for third base, Bregman is expected to play second base. He has logged 32 career innings at second base, but his new manager feels that he can provide “a Gold Glove” type production at his new position.
Last season Bregman batted .260 with 26 home runs, 75 RBI, and a .768 OPS for the Astros. He did struggle to open the season, batting just .201 with a .534 OPS through the second week of May. He hit .279 for the remainder of the season.
Bregman is coming off a five-year, $100 million deal with Houston, where he slashed .275/.376/.488 with 157 home runs and 554 RBIs from 2017 to 2023 during that span. He will bring a career .272 average with 191 homers and 663 RBI with the Astros. In addition, he is a two-time All-Star and a two-time World Series champion. Bregman has appeared in 99 postseason games and 26 games in the World Series. His leadership will be a value add to the Red Sox clubhouse.
The move to bring in Bregman is 13 years in the making after Boston drafted him in the 29th round of the 2012 MLB draft. Bregman, whose stock dropped that year leading into the draft due to a broken hand, fell to Boston. Despite being drafted by Boston, he never came close to becoming a member of the organization.
Bregman made it clear to Boston he would only sign with them if he were drafted with the 24th overall pick; he wanted to be drafted in the first round; the Red Sox instead went with infielder Devin Marrero.
Bregman’s addition to the roster also puts some players on notice, such as Vaughn Grissom, who effectively has no place to play for the Red Sox and will likely start the season with the WooSox. Kristian Campbell was a candidate to win the starting second base job out of camp; he should still see time in the infield and the outfield. David Hamilton still offers value off the Red Sox bench, offering depth at both second base and shortstop.
One thing is for certain: it has been a long time since the Red Sox outbid teams in free agency to land a player. There will be some that will scoff at the $40 million price tag per year for Bregman, but the Red Sox needed to get uncomfortable this offseason. They did with the trade to acquire Garrett Crochet and now with the free agent signing of Bregman.
