Red Sox
“That’ll all take care of itself. He wants to be here, we want him to be here, and I’ll leave it at that.”
Alex Bregman and the Red Sox are staying focused on the task at hand: winning a pivotal three-game home series against the Yankees with first place in the Wild-Card standings up for grabs.
But Bregman has found himself mentioned in several rumors in recent weeks when it comes to his future with the Red Sox and the options available to him this offseason if he wanted to test free agency.
Boston initially signed Bregman to a three-year, $120 million contract in February, giving the team a much-needed bat from the right side and a veteran leader.
But Bregman’s deal includes opt-out clauses both this upcoming offseason and the following winter — which would allow the third baseman to hit the open market again if he wanted to cash in with a long-term deal.
Last week, ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan reported that Bregman will choose to opt out this offseason “barring an injury or catastrophic slump” — giving him the option to sign a new deal with the Red Sox or chase that larger contract elsewhere.
“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,” Passan noted.
While the Red Sox have reaped the benefits of Bregman’s leadership and production (both at the plate and at the hot corner), Boston might be faced with a tough decision if Bregman is seeking a long-term contract going into his age-32 season.
But during his appearance on WEEI’s “Greg Hill Show” on Thursday morning, Red Sox team president Sam Kennedy said that Passan’s report came as a surprise to him.
“That’ll all take care of itself,” Kennedy said. “He wants to be here, we want him to be here, and I’ll leave it at that. … We were all surprised by that report given, you know, we just haven’t had discussions with Alex about anything other than the goal at hand right now with what’s in front of us these next 15 games.”
Even with a hamstring injury costing Bregman over a month of action, Bregman has been as advertised as a key cog in Boston’s lineup — batting .279 with 16 home runs and 57 RBI over 101 games.
Speaking last month, Bregman noted in an interview with The Boston Globe’s Tim Healey that he wants to table potential contract talks with the Red Sox until the offseason.
“Obviously, we’re open to talking [when the season is over],” Bregman told Healey “But for the next few months, I’m just really focused on the baseball. … “I’m just focused on trying to do what I can to help this team win and get into the playoffs. I feel like that’s where my head and mind need to be.”
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