It was reported on Friday that it was a “near certainty” that third baseman Alex Bregman would opt out of his three-year, $120 million contract with the Boston Red Sox this offseason.
Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly broke down Bregman’s “Top 8 Landing Spots Ahead of MLB Free Agency” on Friday and opined that it makes the “most sense” for the 31-year-old to re-sign with Boston.
“While there will certainly be other suitors, Bregman remaining in Boston for the foreseeable future is still the scenario that makes the most sense, by far,” Kelly wrote. “Yes, at times it feels like the Red Sox have too much young position talent for their own good, but keeping that makes the veteran presence of Bregman that much more important. They also burned the bridge with Rafael Devers, so there’s not a good internal option to replace Bregman at third base in 2026.”
The MLB writer argued that with former Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers now out of the picture and “no ability to give Bregman a QO, the Red Sox should be the most motivated player in the sweepstakes for Bregman.”
Despite being limited to 114 games during the 2025 season, Bregman still finished third on the team in home runs (18) and walks (51). Bregman was also fourth on Boston in a host of categories including Wins Above Replacement (WAR) at 3.5, runs scored (64), hits (118) and doubles (28), while posting a .273/.360/.462 slash line.
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The longtime Houston Astros star’s batting average, slugging percentage and OPS (.821) were all his highest marks since his 2019 AL MVP runner-up campaign.
Bregman made his first All-Star team since the 2019 season as well and became just the eighth player in MLB history to appear in 100 postseason contests.
