Alex Bregman missed a huge chunk of the season in his first year at Boston—42 games over nearly seven weeks—with a serious right quad strain from late May to July. Then, after playing like an All-Star, his performance stumbled a bit in September, when his slash line was just .216/.310/.330 with a rough .640 OPS. This slump, combined with the illness that forced him to miss the final two regular-season games, raised questions about his availability in the Wild Card Game 1.
Now, the official word finally dropped just when the speculation reached its peak. According to a tweet from Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, the team’s chief baseball officer, Craig Breslow, provided an update. Healey reported: “Alex Bregman should be good to go for Game 1 tomorrow, Craig Breslow said, but has been sick and away from the Red Sox most of the past two days. He traveled separately from the team to New York and just came out onto the field at Yankee Stadium for the first time.”
That news is absolutely vital for a Red Sox team. Bregman is 10-for-28 in his seven games against the Yankees so far this season, resulting in an impressive .357 batting average with one home run, one double, three RBIs, and three runs scored. Plus, the Yankees have announced they will start left-handed aces Max Fried and Carlos Rodón in the first two games of the series. And this is exactly where a healthy Bregman’s importance reached its peak. He has been a nightmare for southpaws with a slash line of .319/.421/.434 against left-handed pitchers throughout the season.
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And beyond the regular-season stats, Bregman brings invaluable championship experience. He made eight straight postseason appearances during his tenure with the Houston Astros and won two World Series titles, and holds all-time playoff records for a third baseman in homers, RBIs, and runs scored. This is the kind of experience the Red Sox, who are snapping a three-year postseason drought, desperately need in the lineup.
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The 31-year-old faced the Yankees three times in the postseason. And the Astros advanced every time they faced New York during his tenure. So, Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke about the familiar foe on Monday. “Watching him afar, it seems like he’s had a real positive impact on their team, their clubhouse, their culture,” Boone said. “He’s definitely an impact player for them.”
Bregman’s health, however, is just one storyline in the latest chapter of baseball’s most historic rivalry.
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A rivalry renewed
All 4 times these two franchises have met in the 21st century, it was more than just baseball. And current Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone knows that better than everyone. His legendary walk-off home run in Game 7 handed them the win in the 2003 ALCS. The Red Sox authored the greatest comeback in sports history the next year, breaking the curse of Bambino. More recently, Boston defeated New York in the 2018 ALDS on its way to another World Series title. And their last postseason meeting was a one-game Wild Card showdown in 2021, which the Boston team won. So, Boston will certainly be confident of that recent success and their dominance this season.
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The Red Sox won the 2025 season series 9-4, including a 5-2 record at Yankee Stadium. To beat lefty Max Fried in Game 1, manager Alex Cora will probably stack his lineup with right-handed hitters. And the lineup also could feature Trevor Story and Alex Bregman at the top. It can also include lefty-mashers like Rob Refsnyder and Romy Gonzalez to support Story and Bregman and create the best possible matchups against the Yankees’ ace.