The\u00a0Boston Red Sox\u00a0made the Rafael Devers trade this season\u00a0with the vision\u00a0of using the\u00a0money saved to\u00a0keep Alex Bregman long-term. Now, just a few months out from\u00a0MLB free agency, Boston faces\u00a0a scenario where\u00a0Bregman and Trevor\u00a0Story could both\u00a0hit the open\u00a0market.<\/p>\n
Robert Murray of\u00a0Fansided\u00a0and Jeff Passan of\u00a0ESPN\u00a0shared this week that Bregman is widely expected to turn down the player option on his contract this winter, turning down the remaining two years of his deal. Once that happens, he\u2019ll immediately become the most coveted third baseman in MLB free agency.<\/p>\n
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Related: Boston Red Sox Named Among Early Suitors for Top MLB Free Agent<\/strong><\/p>\n Alex Bregman stats<\/strong>: .281\/.364\/.485, .849 OPS, 16 home runs, 54 RBI, 25 doubles, 101 hits, 59-39 K-BB, 3 triples in 359 at-bats<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Passan already mentioned a few of the clubs that could potentially pursue Bregman this winter. Among them, the\u00a0Philadelphia Phillies,\u00a0Detroit Tigers\u00a0and\u00a0New York Yankees\u00a0all have the deep pockets to afford to get into a bidding war with Boston. Furthermore, all three of those teams also offer a shot at World Series contention.<\/p>\n As for the cost to sign Bregman, the expectation is that the All-Star third baseman will receive the five-year deal he wants this offseason. It means signing him, ahead of his age-32 season, to a deal that will pay him a $35-plus million average annual value through his age-36 campaign. Notably, though, Murray does predict that Bregman will ultimately re-sign with the Red Sox.<\/p>\n Alex Bregman contract (Spotrac):<\/strong> $40 million team option for 2026 ($25 million payroll salary)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Related: Highest-Paid MLB Players 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n One thing that will influence how much money Boston has to spend this offseason is Story\u2019s contract decisions. Turning 33 years old in November, Story entered play on Friday with a .742 OPS, 23 home runs and 88 RBI. It\u2019s by far his most productive season since joining the club in 2022.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Trevor Story contract (Spotrac):<\/strong> $25 million player option (2026), $25 million salary in 2027<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Right now, Passan believes that Story will exercise his opt-in to play out the final two years of his deal with Boston. If that\u2019s the case, he\u2019s on the Red Sox payroll for the next two seasons before the front office could decline the $25 million club option for 2028.<\/p>\n In all likelihood, the Red Sox lineup in 2026 will have Story at shortstop with Bregman playing third base. It\u2019ll cost the team more than $55 million per season for the two players combined, likely limiting their ability to land an upgrade at first base this winter, but it\u2019s better than losing Bregman a year after signing him.<\/p>\n Related Headlines<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Boston Red Sox made the Rafael Devers trade this season with the vision of using the money saved to keep Alex Bregman long-term. Now, just<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":88765,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[238,47,78,666,40,49,3513,703,2511,702],"class_list":["post-88764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-alex-bregman","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-detroit-tigers","tag-jeff-passan","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-philadelphia-phillies","tag-player-option","tag-rafael-devers","tag-robert-murray","tag-trevor-story"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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