Red Sox Get Relieving Alex Bregman Free Agency Update
The Baltimore Orioles are not pursuing Bregman
The Boston Red Sox signed Alex Bregman to a three-year, $120 million deal last winter, but he is now a free agent.
Bregman was not only an All-Star on the field but a tremendous leader for the Red Sox. The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal revealed that Bregman is the Red Sox’s top priority right now, but also revealed one team that is not pursuing him: The Baltimore Orioles.
“The Orioles, while seeking another accomplished starter to complement Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish, remain involved with Tucker and other top hitters,” The Athletic wrote on Friday. “Neither (Bo) Bichette nor Bregman is on their wish list. The Orioles are set in their infield, other than at first base.”
Any team dropping out of the Bregman sweepstakes is good news for the Red Sox if they want to keep him around. However, knowing that a division rival is not pursuing him is likely relieving. Bregman was undoubtedly one of the Red Sox’s best players last year, so if they can’t keep him, they surely do not want to see him playing for a rival.
Bregman was a two-time All-Star with the Houston Astros, but then saw his numbers decline over the next five seasons. In his back-to-back All-Star seasons with the Astros, he had a .970 OPS and won a Slugger. He had a .795 OPS in the next five seasons.
Bregman was not bad from 2020-2024, but he wasn’t the same as he was as an All-Star. Many teams thought that version of Bregman was gone, but after coming to the Red Sox and tweaking his swing, he looked more like the player he was in 2018 and 2019.
Bregman slashed .273/360/.462 in 114 games for the Red Sox. He hit 18 home runs and had a solid season. However, he may have had an even better year if not for a quad injury that kept him out for over a month. Before his injury, he was hitting .299 with a .938 OPS.
He had the ninth-best OPS in baseball before his injury and was putting together a special season. He hit .250 with a .724 OPS after his injury. After a full offseason to heal, Bregman could once again dominate next year.
There are concerns about his age and giving him a multi-year deal. However, it seems that at this point he is the Red Sox’s top priority, meaning they likely value his leadership and presence as well as his on-field play.
