The Boston Red Sox signed Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million deal last offseason. His deal includes an opt-out, but the Red Sox may be wise to extend him.
The Red Sox saved over $250 million by trading Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. With newfound financial flexibility, it would be safe to assume they're going to want to keep Bregman around. Bregman was slashing .299/.385/.553 with 11 home runs before his injury.
He is a two-time All-Star and was having one of his best seasons at the plate. He and his agent, Scott Boras, have made it known they are open to signing an extension. Signing an extension would prevent Bregman from opting out of his deal and finding a better deal in free agency after a great season.
However, the Red Sox are reportedly making a risky move and not trying to sign Bregman to an extension at this time, according to WEEI's Rob Bradford.
"Per source: The Red Sox and Alex Bregman have yet to engage in talks regarding a contract extension," Bradford wrote on X.
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The Red Sox are not likely to entertain trading Bregman. However, by not starting negotiations, they do run the risk of not knowing if they can even offer him what he wants. If they started negotiations sooner rather than later, they would know if they need to trade him because they will end up losing him anyway.
In reality, there is no deadline to extend Bregman. However, every day that passes without negotiations is simply one day closer to him opting out and hitting free agency. If the Red Sox do not approach him with an extension until after the season, then he would have less incentive not to test the open market. The longer the team waits to start extension talks, the more they risk losing Bregman.
Bregman is expected to make his return from injury this weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays. He is reportedly going to play in two games, but it is unclear which two games in the series he will be active for.
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