New Details Emerge On Alex Bregman’s Near Return To Red Sox

It has been a rough week for the Boston Red Sox and it's only Tuesday, as of writing.

This past weekend, the Red Sox lost the Alex Bregman sweepstakes. This is something that seemed unlikely all throughout the offseason, but became a reality as Bregman agreed to terms on a five-year, $175 million deal with the Chicago Cubs. The All-Star third baseman already has started getting himself acquainted with Chicago fans as well.

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Alex Bregman was in attendance for the Blackhawks game in Chicago tonight 🏒

(via @NHLBlackhawks)pic.twitter.com/SkKwBHuM2l
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) January 13, 2026

Unsurprisingly, the Red Sox have taken some heat since. Boston is one bat away from truly contending and Bregman was one of the leaders of the organization in 2025. The club talked a big game about their intent to keep him around and how he was a "priority" for the franchise, but in the end, business got in the way of the game itself. As details have trickled out from behind the scenes, they have not painted the Red Sox in a good light.

Not a good look for Boston

The Cubs outbid the Red Sox ($175 million vs. $165 million), were willing to give him a no-trade clause, and also included a better timeline for deferred money.

On Tuesday, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reported even more information that will upset Boston fans. Abraham noted that Bregman was "prepared to accept" Boston's offer and would be with the organization if they budged on the no-trade clause and deferrals, which pushed him to Chicago.

"Bregman didn’t want to risk the Sox ownership shifting lanes again and hiring an executive who saw him as trade chip," Abraham wrote. "He was prepared to accept five years and $165 million until the team balked at the no-trade clause and insisted on deferred payments that reduced the present-day value of the contract. Had the Sox granted him no-trade protection and negotiated more favorable deferrals, Bregman would still be with the team, according to a source familiar with the process. Instead he was told this was the team’s final offer.

"That was when Bregman turned to the Cubs. Chicago offered a five-year contract worth $175 million with a better deferral schedule and no-trade rights. Bregman accepted those terms on Saturday."

With each nugget of information that comes out, it makes Boston look even worse. There are plenty of players around the league who have no-trade clauses -- Boston traded for two this offseason -- who waived them in order to come to Boston in Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras. That would've been an easy win for the club and instead it gave itself a more difficult path with a month to go until Spring Training.

On top of this, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that Bregman made a proposal to Boston throughout the process.

"Bregman did make a proposal to Red Sox but Cubs ultimately offered $10M more than Boston, plus a shorter deferral timeline and full no-trade," Heyman wrote.

These are negotiations we're talking about and there is probably more information behind the scenes. But with the information that is out there, this looks like a self-inflicted wound and could've been avoided.

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