It feels inevitable at this point that Boston Red Sox's star third baseman Alex Bregman will opt-out of his three-year, $120 million contract after this season.
However, that doesn't mean his days in Boston are over. But, it does mean the Red Sox will have to convince Bregman to return instead of heading to another contender's team.
The easiest option for the Red Sox would be to agree on an extension with Bregman before the end of the season when Bregman hits to open market, but his agent, Scott Boras, made it pretty clear that's not likely to happen.
Boras Sends Red Sox A Message
Bregman has had a very strong year with the Red Sox, despite missing time due to injury. The All-Star third baseman is hitting .279 with a .836 OPS, 16 home runs and 57 RBI.
But his leadership off the field has been just as important as his performance on the field. The Red Sox have numerous young players developing at the major league level, and having Bregman there to guide them is important.
However, it looks like the Red Sox missed their window to try to work out an extension with Bregman before the offseason.
BREGMAN BLAST 🚀
— ESPN (@espn) April 7, 2025
Alex Bregman SENT this pitch DEEP 😳 pic.twitter.com/IhueA37q6t
"I think Alex has been clear that he is in playoff mode, performance mode. He wants to just to focus on that. He had to come back from his injury and do the things he is doing. That’s kind of where it's at," Boras told WEEI 93.7 FM's Rob Bradford (h/t audacy.com). "We’re at the point now where you wait until the offseason and see what transpires.
"Obviously, I think he’s very open about it. He has enjoyed it there. The team has more defined promise than it did a year ago. With free agency, you have to see how things go."
The Red Sox caught fire before the All-Star break to put themselves in the playoff hunt, and have continued to play good baseball since. Boston sits two games up in the American League wild card race, and 2.5 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East.
Alex Cora, in discussing team chemistry and these Red Sox seeming to like each other a lot, cited two things: winning and Alex Bregman.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) August 27, 2025
"I’ve caught myself in full uni an hour and a half after games. Like, oh shoot, we’re back." pic.twitter.com/7QBtJ0fAsq
Boston has a young core with Ceddanne Rafaela, Roman Anthony, Wilyer Abreu, Carlos Narváez, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer, with some finding their stride at the major league level and others still working on it.
Then the Red Sox have guys like Trevor Story, Jarren Duran and Romy Gonzalez who have more experience and can bring some veteran leadership.
However, Bregman is the piece that holds everything together, and it's been evident this year with his mentorship of the Red Sox's young talent.
It was 1 a.m. when Carlos Narváez’s phone lit up. Alex Bregman was calling.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) September 11, 2025
“ ‘Are you awake?’ Yeah. ‘Come to my room,’ ” Narváez recalled. “Bro, we talked till 2 or 3 a.m., talking about our pitchers. How can we get better?”https://t.co/lJzDkDoqq7
"They’ve got a couple of great players at very discounted prices by signing them young in their careers," Boras said, referencing recent contract extensions given to Garrett Crochet, Aroldis Chapman and Roman Anthony (h/t audacy.com). "Normally, when organizations get that … Plus there are other young players coming. They all need championship leadership.
"When you go back and look at what makes teams successful you go find players who are quality enough at the All-Star level but also have championship leadership and experience which benefits the growth of so many young players. I would certainly thing the foundation of the Red Sox is in a much more defined position than it was a year ago."
The Red Sox have the payroll to give Bregman the lucrative, long-term deal he's bound to find this offseason because of the smart, team friendly contracts they've already signed with other players.
With Boras as Bregman's agent, he's going to get the best deal possible. With his performance on the field plus his leadership off the field, the Red Sox need to bring the three-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion back, and it's going to cost them.