The Boston Red Sox have gotten pretty much everything they wanted out of Alex Bregman, who has become the leader the Sox needed. However, recently his play has declined immensely, and may affect his free agent status.
One person who thinks it will affect Bregman’s status is Red Sox insider Marino Pepen, who says Bregman will likely opt-in to his contract and not test free agency.
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“Alex Bregman in September: .186/.250/.288/.538 Curiously, the offensive slump occurs after it was reported that he might opt out of the contract at the end of the season. Earning $40 MM per season, I see it as unlikely that he seeks new horizons if the offensive drought continues…We keep going, Positive and OK,” Pepen posted.
Bregman’s slump has definitely affected his overall numbers, too. He went from being a .300+ hitter early in the season to a .272 hitter as of today.
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With this in mind, Bregman probably won’t find a better long-term deal for nearly as much money as he would get staying with the Sox.
What is most likely is Bregman opts into his deal, gets another $40 million he wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else, and if he does well, then he would opt-out next season.
Hopefully he does opt in, so the Sox can focus on addressing the key problems they had this year through free agents and trades.
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