The Boston Red Sox invested in Alex Bregman last winter to change the culture of the clubhouse and produce like his All-Star self at third base.
He immediately brought that leadership into the clubhouse with veteran experience, a knack for helping pitchers and particularly mentoring top prospects in Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell. He improved third base defense for the Red Sox. At the plate, despite missing nearly two months with a quad injury suffered May 23, he dominated enough to earn an All-Star selection.
The second half of the season hasn’t been as kind to Bregman. He’s hit just .207 with a .582 OPS since the end of August. Bregman started to turn a corner in Boston’s most recent series against the Tampa Bay Rays when he went 5-for-11 with a home run and four walks.
The Red Sox have a magic number of five with six games to go to clinch their first postseason berth in four years. With the goal of holding off the Cleveland Guardians and Houston Astros, is any part of Bregman’s mind on another run at free agency this winter with an opt-out in his contract?
“You’re right, it’s not,” Bregman told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier and NESN’s Tom Caron on the “310 To Left” podcast. “I’m focused on winning games.”
The Red Sox signed Bregman to a three-year, $120 million deal just days before the start of spring training back in February. He holds opt-outs after both the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Should he exercise the first one and head to free agency again this year, teams like the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies seem like prime competitors the Red Sox would have to beat out to bring back their star third baseman.
For now, Bregman’s sights are on what would be his ninth consecutive trip to the postseason and his first with the Red Sox.