Red Sox Free-Agent Target Could Look To Sign Eye-Popping Contract

The Boston Red Sox have been linked to Alex Bregman since before the 2024 regular season came to an end.

And in the early stages of the offseason, the Red Sox appear to still be interested in bringing the veteran third baseman to Boston. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported Friday that the Red Sox “inquired” about Bregman.

But it won’t be easy to land the two-time World Series champion with the Houston Astros, especially with the contract Bregman might be after.

Most pundits expect Bregman to sign for seven years and in the range of $150 to $190 million. But The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal believes super agent Scott Boras will ask for way more for his client. Rosenthal wrote that he could see Bregman getting a deal that compares closer to Manny Machado, who signed a lucrative 11-year, $350 million contract with the San Diego Padres prior to the 2023 season.

That’s almost double what is being projected for Bregman as he’s coming off a solid season in which he batted .260 with 26 home runs and 75 RBIs but still pales in comparison to the numbers he put up as an All-Star in 2018 and 2019.

But if Rosenthal’s speculation is correct and Bregman’s asking price is over $300 million, it doesn’t seem like that would be a wise investment for the Red Sox, who would presumably have to find a new spot on the diamond for Rafael Devers if they brought aboard Bregman.

“The only thing is Bregman looking for $200 million?” former Red Sox third baseman and NESN analyst Will Middlebrooks said on “Sox Talk With Will Middlebrooks” last month. “He’s (about to be) 31 years old, how are you going to pay this guy? It’s not my money. I get that. It’s not Craig Breslow’s money. It’s beyond that. But do you really want to sign one of those contracts where you’re eating the last three years of it? The year 37, 38, 39 of how old he is in that contract, what are you really getting from him? Is he going to be a good third baseman at that point when you have nowhere else to put him? No.

“Depending on the deal, I would love Bregman. I wouldn’t want to overpay and overextend on years when you’re going to be eating the back end of that.”