Red Sox reportedly sign Alex Bregman to 3-year, $120 million contract
Bregman earned two All-Star nods and won a pair of World Series titles with the Houston Astros.
Craig Breslow and the Red Sox have reportedly finally landed the right-handed slugger they’ve been searching for.
According to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, the Red Sox have signed veteran infielder Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million contract — with the deal including a pair of opt-outs after both the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Wednesday’s news ends a winter rife with reports and rumors linking the Red Sox and Bregman — who previously spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Houston Astros.
While Boston initially expressed interest in Bregman in early December, all parties were reportedly at an impasse for months — with Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reporting in January that the Red Sox were not willing to offer Bregman a deal beyond four seasons.
Considering that Bregman reportedly had multiple five-year offers on the table this offseason, his reported deal with Boston seems to be some semblance of a compromise — with Bregman reuniting with Alex Cora in Boston while also getting several opportunities to hit the open market again if he thrives at Fenway Park.
Cora, who coached Bregman when he served as Houston’s bench coach in 2017, spoke highly of Bregman throughout the offseason.
“Alex is a good player, man. He’s a complete player,” Cora said of Bregman at the Winter Meetings. “He’s been on winning teams his whole career. Good defender. Offensively, he’s really good. He’s a guy a lot of people are talking about. I do believe he can impact a big league team, a championship-caliber team. He’s that type of player.”
Bregman, who will turn 31 before Opening Day, won two World Series over his nine-year tenure in Houston — earning two All-Star nods and finishing second in AL MVP voting during the 2019 season.
The veteran should add some much-needed pop at the right side of the plate for the Red Sox, who had a vacancy on their roster after Tyler O’Neill left in free agency. Bregman is coming off a 2024 season where he batted .260 with 26 home runs and 75 RBI over 145 games.
Bregman did win a Gold Glove at third base this past season, finishing the year with six defensive runs saved. However, it remains to be seen if his arrival would bump Rafael Devers off of third and into more of a DH role — which is currently occupied by Masataka Yoshida.
Speaking earlier this winter, Cora acknowledged that Bregman could move over to second base if need be.
“He should be OK,” Cora said of Bregman moving off third base. “We actually had that conversation [about playing second] in ‘17. We made some adjustments at third base. Where he was playing, he was feeling uncomfortable. At the end, it paid off for him.
“He’s a Gold Glover defender at third. But I always envisioned him playing in the middle of the diamond. He can adjust. He has the baseball IQ to do that. People might think the double play might be an issue, but I don’t think so. I think he can do whatever.”
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