In the wake of Red Sox All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman reportedly exercising his ability to opt out of his three-year contract after just one season in Boston, the conversations among fans and media on whether or not the team should bring back the 31-year-old on a new deal have run the gamut.

There’s a school of thought that has says you maximized whatever it is Bregman has left as a player on the field, and the quad injury that forced him to the IL for a large chunk of the 2025 season is going to be the type of thing that continues to hamper him year after year as he gets older.

There’s a school of thought that says Bregman is still a plus-defensive player at third base, a guy that still has a lot of gas left in the tank as a hitter, and is someone that the organization needs to bring back if they want to continue to build on the momentum they were able to harness on their way to their first playoff appearance since 2021.

And then there’s the school of thought that talks about Bregman as a leader off the field.

You read the reports all season long from various outlets:

- Taking charge during meetings, serving as a pseudo-manager type to the younger guys on the roster

- Working with pitchers on the iPad to help them with issues on tipping pitches, as well as other adjustments to their delivery

- Being a vocal leader in the clubhouse as he rehabbed from his injury, almost becoming an unofficial member of the team’s development staff while simultaneously working his way back from the quad strain

It’s clear that the two-time World Series champion was much more important than his .273 batting average towards the top of the lineup card. The intangibles that manager Alex Cora wanted in his building were brimming from Bregman, and part of the development we saw from the young roster in Boston in 2025 can be directly attributed to his leadership.

A perfect example of this was described by Red Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse, who joined my friend and WEEI colleague Rob Bradford on his “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast earlier this week.

Here’s Fatse’s full answer on Bregman helping breakout rookie star Roman Anthony make an adjustment in his swing midseason:

“Something that we had saw in spring training - you know, Roman had his hands really far out in front of his face. His hands would, essentially, kind of pull back and get behind him. And we noticed, obviously, from a profile perspective, [the] kid hits the ball really hard. Obviously, there's an opportunity for him to catch the ball a bit further out in front, use his pull-side gap a little bit more - like, there's opportunities for that, but he hits the ball hard enough to drive the ball to center-left, center field.

“But just kind of looking at the move - the move is a little big, and sometimes we get out of sync, and we kind of just felt like, ‘Yeah, we could help simplifying. This could help his ball flight.’ But we also feel like it can help him against lefties, just kind of create some better lines with his upper body, not get as crossed up, so to speak.

“And yeah - Breggy grabbed him one day in Philly, and I remember they - you know, I was there early, and all of a sudden he sits down. He's like, ‘Hey, I've been talking to him about this, let's go.’ And he just - he starts ripping through video, talking shop. We went right to the cage and got to work. That's what makes him great, you know? That's where his impact on our group’s, like, invaluable to me. But getting back to what I was saying about Roman - like, the kid would make adjustments that you think would take 200 at bats, and this kid would do it in 30, 40. Like, he would just be able to apply things fast.”

This anecdote tells two different stories. One of a veteran player showing the intangible value he has off the field, and one of a young superstar in the making showing an early ability to make significant adjustments to his swing without the normal learning curve your average big leaguer would need.

It’s hard not to read that and get excited about what a partnership between Bregman and this young clubhouse could do for its development over the next few years.

But, ultimately, it’s going to come down to dollars, cents and years.

Bregman opted out of a deal that was set to pay him $80 million over the next two seasons.

What type of money does he think is out there? What does super agent Scott Boras know?

Is there a lower AAV deal available somewhere else that would give Bregman job security past the 2027 season?

My guess is yes. Now it’s a question of whether or not Boston is willing to pony up and match-or-best whatever offers are out there.

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.