Red Sox Competing With This Team For Alex Bregman, Exec Believes

While there have been a handful of teams linked to Alex Bregman this offseason, an MLB executive seems to believe it’s now a two-horse race.

The Red Sox and Diamondbacks appear to be the two most likely landing spots for Bregman, an executive told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers in a story published Tuesday. While the Blue Jays previously were viewed as a viable spot for the 2024 MLB All-Star, their signing of corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto has many believing they’re out of the mix.

“There was a feeling among some in the industry that Bregman was down to Toronto and Arizona and when Kazuma Okamoto signed with the Blue Jays, it would push Bregman to the Diamondbacks,” Rogers wrote.

“Those same people also believed the Red Sox would indeed hang around until the end, seeing how Bregman’s market would develop. Many believe the two sides — Boston and Bregman — need each other, given the leadership and production he supplied for the Red Sox last season. But free agents always want more than one serious suitor, so one executive put it this way: ‘If it was down to Toronto and Arizona before, maybe it’s now Boston or Arizona.'”

Fellow ESPN MLB insider Buster Olney hinted at Boston’s contract offer to Bregman: a six-year, $171.5 million deal. Such a pact would grant Bregman a $28.6 million average annual value, which is in line with Bregman’s projected market value entering the offseason.

Bregman, of course, played the 2024 campaign in Boston before he opted out of the three-year deal he signed last offseason.