Red Sox 'Appear' To Be First Choice For 3x All-Star Alex Bregman: Insider

The rest of the 2025 season quite obviously comes first, but you'd forgive the Boston Red Sox if they're already sweating Alex Bregman's impending free agency.

Signing Bregman was a huge win for the Red Sox, as the star third baseman agreed to a three-year, $120 million deal in February. But that deal included an opt-out after each of the first two seasons, and after making his third American League All-Star team this year, Bregman seems likely to re-enter free agency.

Now that they've traded away Rafael Devers, who was disgruntled in large part because the Red Sox signed Bregman to take over his old position, the pressure on Boston and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow to keep Bregman is immense

The Athletic's Jim Bowden labels the Red Sox as favorites for Bregman

Aug 11, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman (2) waives to the crowd after being honored with a video tribute before the game against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Bregman has fit this Red Sox team like a glove, posting 3.7 bWAR in only 76 games and sliding neatly into the two-hole recently behind star rookie outfielder Roman Anthony. Plus, the guy even recently released a special edition beer in collaboration with Boston staple Samuel Adams.

So any nugget of information about the chances of Bregman staying or leaving are useful at this point. And on Friday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic read the tea leaves and projected that the Red Sox were the slugger's first choice at the moment.

"Bregman, who is making $40 million this year and signed for two more years at that rate, will likely opt out of his contract and seek a longer-team deal. He missed time this season with a quad injury but has hit .299/.379/.542 in 327 plate appearances," wrote Bowden.

"It appears Boston would be his first choice in free agency, but he is an obvious fit with several other contending teams including the Phillies, Yankees, Tigers, Dodgers, Mariners and even the Mets."

Bregman has always crushed the ball at Fenway Park, which is tailored perfectly to his swing. We also know that he cares about a team's future prospects at contention, and the rest of the prospective championship core is locked down for the foreseeable future, with a crop of pitching prospects on the way in 2026 to take the rotation up a level.

Still, Bregman wants to get paid, and the Red Sox weren't willing to give him more than three years last winter. After seeing him dominate in a Boston uniform this year, optimistic fans have to hope that calculus has changed.