Craig Breslow and Alex Bregman were engaged in a weeks-long stare-down.
As it turns out, it was Bregman (and his agent Scott Boras) who blinked first.
Boston secured the final piece of its offseason puzzle by signing the former Astros champion and two-time All-Star third baseman to a multi-year deal in news that broke late Wednesday night.
Breaking: Alex Bregman has agreed to a 3-year, $120 million deal with the Red Sox with two opt outs, sources tell @JesseRogersESPN. pic.twitter.com/ZijvVwdBVy
— ESPN (@espn) February 13, 2025
Bregman had been pitched for months as a “$200 million man,” but it wound up costing much less to secure his services. The Sox were able to land him for a reported $120 million. And while some were worried about the long-term ramifications of signing Bregman, those fears should be quelled as the deal will only last three years.
Alas, the Red Sox got their man — their $40 million man — after all. It was clear from the start that someone in the front office didn’t *love* Bregman, because it took forever and a day to sign him, and the deal comes at more of a bargain length and price.
Yes, a $40 million average annual value is still a lot of money. Is Bregman really worth more a year than, say, Rafael Devers? I don’t believe so. But it’s the rate of doing business, and bringing him in for three years as opposed to four, five, six or more definitely favors a team with talent waiting in the wings.
I didn’t love the approach to begin with. If you like someone, go out and get them. Ultimately, the Sox opted just to dip their toe in the water, make a deal they were comfortable with and wait out the results.
But hey, in the end, the strategy worked out for Breslow, who ends his second (but first real) offseason as baseball ops boss having brought in Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler and now Bregman.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
In fact, I’m going to go ahead and give Breslow and the Sox a B+ for their offseason, which is now finished for all intents and purposes. Sure, we might still see a deal for another bullpen arm, but I’d be shocked if this weren’t the last major move of the winter.
Juan Soto isn’t walking through that door, but nevertheless, the Sox came into the offseason needing a major overhaul to the rotation and a tweak to a lefty-heavy, somewhat power-less lineup.
Check and check. Breslow got the job done.
Thanks to Breslow’s work, I feel safe in saying these Red Sox now should be a playoff team. Before the Bregman signing, I was hovering around 86 wins in my projections for this season. Now? I think 88 to 90 are firmly on the table.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this Sox team still isn’t a frontrunner to win the World Series. But there’s enough talent here, both young and old, that they have positioned themselves to be within “catch lightning in a bottle” territory.
Can they beat the Dodgers? Probably not. Could they get hot at the right time and make a run in the American League? I think so, yes.
As for the fit, Bregman will be here for his 10th, 11th and 12th major league seasons. It’s certainly reasonable to expect solid production at that point, even though he will be approaching 35 by the deal’s end.
Once a more reliable contact hitter, Bregman’s averages have dipped into the .260s the last couple of years. Yet the power numbers have remained steady, hitting 25 or more homers each season and driving in more than 75 runs in both.
I’d say it’s reasonable to expect more of the same, something in the range of 25 homers, 80+ RBIs and a .260s average. Again, not Soto-like, but he doesn’t need to be to make a difference.
Then there’s the defense. Bregman is coming off a Gold Glove season — his first, actually, which is interesting for a player in his ninth year in the bigs. You don’t usually expect to see a player’s defensive skill set peaking near the decade mark, but it’s encouraging nonetheless. He’s a plus defender, and that’s been another area of need for this team.
And the biggest elephant in the room… Bregman is a third baseman, and so is Devers. Boston has committed to Devers at third this season, so it begs the question… where is your new $120 million dollar man going to play?
Probably at second base, which throws a wrench into that whole “Vaughn Grissom-Kristian Campbell” battle many were looking forward to. There’s still a possibility that Devers is moved to DH, but logic dictates that Bregman playing second will be the most likely outcome.
Perhaps his most underestimated value is his clubhouse presence. By all accounts, Bregman is well-liked by teammates and considered a good leader — something the Sox have been lacking in recent years. With no Mookie Betts or Xander Bogaerts, the vocal leadership role has been void for several years now. It’s well established that Devers isn’t interested in it. Triston Casas is, but he’s still establishing himself. In Bregman, the Sox get a guy who has been there, done that, and has walked the walk and can talk the talk.
Is this the perfect deal? Did we all dream of Boston signing Bregman back in October? No it isn’t, and no we didn’t. But make no mistake, this signing makes the Red Sox a better baseball team today, and that shouldn’t be undersold.
Love him or hate him, Bregman is a Red Sox. And these Red Sox are officially done for the winter… and I’d say they did pretty well for themselves, at that.
Gethin Coolbaugh is a columnist for Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on Threads and Instagram.