Surprising as this might have been just a few weeks ago, the Boston Red Sox have hit the All-Star break as baseball’s hottest team.
The front office opted to deal away franchise slugger Rafael Devers in a surprising trade with the San Francisco Giants, which might have seemed like a white flag on the season. But the roster has bounced back from that loss ably to log 10 wins in a row after completing a series sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.
And now the team seems to be in a position to renegotiate with one of its best players for a longer-term stay.
“The Red Sox and Alex Bregman haven’t yet spoken about an extension,” Jon Heyman reported for the New York Post. “It’s rare a star of Bregman’s stature signs within months of unfettered (no qualifying offer attached) free agency. But there’s some chance, as both sides wouldn’t mind getting something done.”
With Bregman open to an extension, the Red Sox could have a strong opportunity to lock in one of the sport’s best infielders and a noted clubhouse leader. But it won’t be cheap.
After joining the team on a three-year, $120 million contract with an opt out after this season, Bregman has slashed .298/.380/.546 and earned the third All-Star bid of his career. To keep him from exercising that opt-out, Heyman predicted the Red Sox would have to break the bank.
“The belief here is that with Bregman’s great start a deal would likely have to be around $184M (what he offered to sign with the Tigers), or perhaps even $200M,” Heyman added.
If Bregman is able to secure a $200 million deal moving forward, his decision to bet on himself with his current short-term contract will have been a major success. And if he’s able to keep up this level of production in the second half of the season, the Red Sox might have little choice but to meet his asking price.
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