Yankees Among Favorites to Poach Red Sox's $120 Million 2-Time World Series Champ

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The New York Yankees are among the betting favorites to poach Boston Red Sox star Alex Bregman.

The New York Yankees have a long history with the Boston Red Sox, but Vegas has the Bronx Bombers potentially poaching one of the rival’s star players in MLB free agency. New York has seemingly been linked to every major MLB free agent, but it is for good reason given the club’s usual willingness to spend.

Alex Bregman’s future with the Red Sox is in doubt after just one season in Boston. Could the Yankees be among the teams pushing to land Bregman?

The Yankees are third in the odds to sign Bregman if the star bolts Boston, per BetOnline. New York sits at +400 just behind the Philadelphia Phillies (+250) as well as Chicago Cubs (+300) in the betting odds.

If you are feeling like Bregman just went through this last offseason, this would be correct. We are less than one year removed from Bregman signing a three-year, $120 million contract with Boston in February. Bregman is best known for being a 2-time World Series champion during his previous nine seasons with the Houston Astros.

Bregman opted out of the deal this offseason to once again test the free agent waters. Could the Yankees be a fit for the rival infielder?

Let’s explore the latest Yankees rumors.

The Yankees Rumors Linking Red Sox 3B Alex Bregman to New York Have Quieted

Beyond the betting odds, rumors appear to have cooled on the Yankees’ potential interest in Bregman in recent weeks. Back in September, ESPN’s Jeff Passan linked the Yankees to the Red Sox third baseman.

“Bregman has taken over the Red Sox’s clubhouse and become their unquestioned leader: a baseball rat whose wisdom is exceeded by his willingness to help his teammates find the best versions of themselves,” Passan wrote in a September 4, article titled, “Early MLB free agency intel: Tucker, Imai, Schwarber, more.” “It’s rare to find a player who has such a wide base of knowledge and the ability to teach it, too.

“… Complicating matters for the Red Sox, though, are the teams in need of better production at third that might be willing to spend for what Bregman provides. The Phillies. The Yankees. The Tigers. And it will take more than three years this time even though he’ll be going into his age-32 season. After one of the more lucrative pillow contracts ever, Bregman is bound to get the five-year-plus deal at an average annual value of $35 million-plus that eluded him last winter.”

How Will Trent Grisham’s Return Impact the Yankees in MLB Free Agency?

The Yankees received a bit of a surprise when Trent Grisham accepted the team’s qualifying offer. It is unclear how Grisham’s return will impact the Yankees’ efforts to re-sign Cody Bellinger or land another big fish in free agency.

“The Yankees likely extended Grisham the qualifying offer unsure whether he would accept it,” The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty detailed in a November 18, article titled, “Trent Grisham accepts Yankees’ qualifying offer, will return in 2026: What it means.” “As the team briefly pondered selling at this year’s trade deadline, it received inquiries on the availability of Grisham, another league source told The Athletic. So Cashman surely knew which teams might have been targeting Grisham again this winter

“… The Yankees are expected to continue pursuing Cody Bellinger, who mostly played left field for them last season but could take over in center field next year.”

Pursuing Bregman would likely be an expensive move for the Yankees and third base does not appear to be the club’s biggest priority. Spotrac projects Bregman’s market value to be a 4-year, $110 million contract.

Jonathan Adams is a veteran sports contributor covering the NFL, NBA and golf for Heavy.com. His work has been prominently featured on NFL.com, Yahoo Sports, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated. More about Jonathan Adams