The Red Sox fell to the Padres on Saturday evening in San Diego, a frustrating game in which starter Lucas Giolito found himself unable to throw strikes in the fifth inning and the Red Sox failed repeatedly with runners in scoring position. But one player who shined, and has shined lately, was third baseman Alex Bregman.
On the night, Bregman was 3-for-4 and is now hitting .301 on the season. He is 7-for-16, a .438 average, over his last five games.
Obviously, playing for the Red Sox suits Bregman. He dealt with a quad injury that kept him out for a month early in the year, but in 74 games, he has posted an OPS of .919, his best since he was the MVP runner-up in Houston in 2019. But Bregman signed a speculative contract this winter, and can be a free agent this winter.
Alex Bregman Certain to Opt Out
That puts the Red Sox in an awkward position. Bregman’s contract is worth $120 million over three years, but has an opt-out after this season that allows him to hit free agency this winter. The Red Sox would be amenable to just keeping Bregman on the deal that is in place, but he has outplayed the contract, and is sure to look for a long-term deal when the season ends.
Ideally, the Red Sox would lock Bregman up before free agency, and prevent other teams from driving up his price. But that’s not going to happen. As Bregman said on Saturday, via the Globe, he’s putting off contract negotiations until after the season.
“Obviously, we’re open to talking [when the season is over],” Bregman said. “But for the next few months, I’m just really focused on the baseball… Just want to do everything I can every day to try to help this team win games and keep my mind focused on that, preparing to play baseball.”
Red Sox Cleared Room With Devers Trade
The Red Sox will be under pressure to pay Bregman, and there will be competition on the open market–a certain team in the Bronx is desperate for a long-term solution at third base.
Boston, of course, just rid itself of its previous high-paid third baseman, Rafael Devers, sending him to San Francisco in a June trade. The Red Sox did not take much back in terms of talent for Devers, but they did dump all of his $270 million on the Giants.
Red Sox, Bregman, Set for Long-Term Future?
That means there should be ample room to sign Bregman to a long-term deal. He is 31, so there is a limit on how long the deal can run, but Spotrac projects his market value at six years and almost $160 million. His agent is Scott Boras–that contract will likely be bigger than the projection.
Bregman has been praised for his leadership with the Red Sox, and working with the team’s young players.
He has even been floated as a potential successor to his friend, Alex Cora, as Red Sox manager.
As NESN noted in June, “Bregman’s supreme ability to mentor Boston’s young stars this season (Roman Anthony included) has shown how successful he’d be as a manager. Bregman sleeps, eats, and breathes baseball, and it’s difficult to imagine him not considering becoming manager post-retirement.”
They’ve got to sign him, first, though.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Red Sox Star Signals Halt in Contract Talks appeared first on Heavy Sports.