Alex Bregman’s future in Boston suddenly feels far less certain
On Tuesday, prominent baseball podcaster Jared Carrabis posted on X the latest on what he’s hearing as it relates to the free agency of two-time World Series champion Alex Bregman:
“I don’t feel super great about Bregman coming back, but these things are always subject to change. Bogaerts was pretty much a done deal to return until the Padres swooped in with a crazy offer. These situations are fluid. But, yeah. Doesn’t sound promising at the moment.”
A bit ambiguous, no doubt about it. But Carrabis is someone who is well-known for having personal relationships with players around Major League Baseball, with deep ties to the Red Sox for his years as a blogger before launching his popular “Section 10 Podcast” over a decade ago.
With Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber off the board, bringing back Bregman after he opted out of the final two years of his three-year deal with Boston back in November felt like a requirement of the Red Sox front office by the fan base, not just a suggestion.
And while rumors for other teams’ interest in Bregman have remained in the mix, Boston has long been considered the front-runner for the 31-year-old’s services in 2026 and beyond.
Bregman missed 48 games in 2025, spending a chunk of the season on the IL after straining his quad while trying to leg out a single against the Orioles on May 23.
After a strong start to his first year in Boston landed him a spot on the All-Star team, Bregman cooled off down the home stretch of the season. He finished the year batting .273 with 18 home runs, 62 RBI and 64 runs scored across 495 plate appearances. His on-base percentage was .360 and his slugging percentage was .462, good for an OPS of .821 - 25 points lower than his career OPS of .846.
None of that is to say that Bregman shouldn’t get the six-to-eight year deal he is desiring from Boston this offseason. That’s still really good production for a guy at his age, and you can chalk the injury up as the reason for his second half dip. Add in the importance of his leadership in the clubhouse, and you can make a strong case for him being worth every penny for the first few years of whatever deal he ends up inevitably signing from the Fenway Sports Group.
And to make things easy on all parties involved, there may be a contract signed in the not-too-distant past by another star in baseball that could start painting the picture for what could be realistic for Bregman in Boston.
MORE RED SOX STORIES:
Trade Interest in Boston Red Sox All-Star Reportedly Picking Up
There Could Be a Deeper Meaning to Recent Boston Red Sox Trade
Chris Martin’s Retirement Pause Puts Red Sox Reunion Back in Play
Alex Speier broke it down back in October in his Sunday Baseball Notes column for The Boston Globe:
“After the 2023 season, third baseman Matt Chapman signed a three-year, $54 million deal with the Giants. Near the conclusion of a spectacular 2024 campaign, he signed a new six-year, $151 million deal with the Giants. Similarly, Blake Snell - coming off a Cy Young season in 2023 - signed a two-year, $62 million deal with the Giants. He opted out of the deal after one year, returned to the open market last winter, and signed a five-year, $182 million deal with the Dodgers.
“Chapman always represented a likely harbinger for Bregman, who like his colleague a year ago just finished his age-31 season. Now, Chapman’s $151 million guarantee represents an obvious basis of comparison for teams interested in Bregman.”
Speier points out that Chapman and Bregman share the same agent, and that these are the types of deals Scott Boras likes looking for. That he just recently pulled off this type of deal for Chapman, who was the same age as Bregman is now and plays the same position, tells you that he has all this framework in place, ready to roll.
Is this as easy as cope + paste for Boras and Boston?
How does six years, $151 million sound for Bregman to remain in Boston?
There’s no reporting to suggest that this deal or any deal like it are in the mix at the moment. All we have is a podcaster with ties to the Boston clubhouse telling us he doesn’t feel great about the clubhouse leader returning in a Red Sox uniform.
And with FSG’s reported self-imposed spending limits in place, would anyone really be surprised?
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
Remember to join our RED SOX on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Red Sox fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.