The Athletic's Jim Bowden has the Yankees, Tigers, Dodgers, Mets, Phillies, Mariners, Cubs and Red Sox all listed as potential suitors for Alex Bregman this offseason, with a contract prediction of six years, $182 million.
More than any time in the history of modern media, it’s vital to consider your source.
So when I saw The Athletic published its contract predictions for the top 50 free agents available this MLB hot stove season, I immediately jumped to the byline to see who had worked on the piece.
Ken Rosenthal? Andy McCullough? Evan Drellich?
Nope.
Jim Bowden.
…OK, so we’re taking this whole thing with a grain of salt.
For those unfamiliar, here’s Bowden’s bio on his author page on The Athletic’s website:
“Jim Bowden, a national writer for The Athletic MLB, was formerly the Sr. VP and general manager for the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals for a combined 16 years, including being named the 1999 MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America. He is the lead MLB Analyst and Insider for CBS Sports-HQ and a regular talk-show host on SiriusXM for the MLB Network and Fantasy channels. Follow him on twitter: @JimBowdenGM.”
Notice a key title missing from Bowden’s bio:
Reporter.
Bowden is known throughout the industry as someone who plays a little fast-and-loose when it comes to rumors and hearsay. I’m not telling you to discount everything he says at all times, but I am asking you to take everything he says with a grain of salt.
With that said, this blurb from his column on Monday perked my ears:
"6. Alex Bregman, 3B (opt-out)
Age: 31
Bats: R
Throws: R
2025 bWAR: 3.5
2025 team: Boston Red Sox
Agent: Boras Corp.
"Bregman has an opt-out in his contract with the Red Sox and his camp has already indicated that he plans to test the free-agent market for a second straight offseason. He battled a quad injury for a good part of the 2025 season, and still managed to slash .273/.360/.462 with 28 doubles, 18 home runs and 62 RBIs in 495 plate appearances, though he was significantly less productive after returning from the IL (.727 OPS) than he had been before the injury (.927 OPS). Bregman was a leader in the Boston clubhouse by example and words, mentoring many of the Red Sox young future stars. He will be sought-after in free agency as the industry views him as a winning player who can contribute on both sides of the ball and perform on the biggest stage in the biggest moments. He’ll likely seek a long-term contract instead of settling for a shorter-term deal like he did last year. By opting out of his deal with the Red Sox, he’s walking away from a guaranteed $41.67 million in each of the next two seasons.
"Salary comps: Matt Chapman 6-years, $151 million; Willy Adames 7-years, $182 million; Rafael Devers 10-years, $313.5 million; Anthony Rendon 7-years, $245 million; Nolan Arenado 8-years, $260 million; José Ramírez 7-years, $141 million
Best team fits: Red Sox, Tigers, Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers, Cubs, Mariners, Mets
Contract prediction: 6-years, $182 million
Aug 12, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman (2) hits a home run during the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)Last Thursday, the list of nominees at each position for the 2025 Silver Slugger Awards were announced, and free agent third baseman Alex Bregman was the only member of the 2025 Red Sox to receive a nomination. For a team in desperate need of more consistent hitting in their lineup, Bregman is someone who, clearly, did it as good as anyone in a Red Sox uniform during his one season in Boston.
Among all American League third basemen with at least 450 plate appearances this past season, he ranked fifth in batting average (.273), tied for first in OBP (.360), third in slugging percentage (.462), fourth in home runs (18), and sixth in RBI (62).
With that said, Bregman’s numbers were better (.299/.385/.553) before suffering an injury to his quad while trying to leg out a single against the Orioles in May, forcing him to miss seven weeks in the middle of the summer. Upon his return, Bregman never completely bounced back to prior form, posting a .250/.338/.386 slash line to finish out the season.
Bregman receiving the Silver Slugger nomination is just another interesting wrinkle in the ongoing saga of his free agency this offseason, with the Scott Boras client opting out of his three-year deal with the Red Sox after one season, leaving $80 million on the table over the next two years in search of a longer term deal that could, potentially, pay him even more money.
With Bowden listing teams like the Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies and Mets as possible suitors for his projected six years and $182 million, the Red Sox better be willing and able to overpay if they’d like the leader of their clubhouse to return in 2026. All of those organizations are unafraid of overpaying to get their guy. Boston, as we all know at this point, hasn’t shown that type of aggression on the free agent market in quite some time (unless you believe in their pursuit of Juan Soto last winter).
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.