Alex Bregman is one of a handful of big names who remain on the free agent market. And while he missed 43 games in 2025 due to a quad injury, one ESPN insider doesn’t believe it will impact the kind of contract he’ll get.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel projected the third baseman to get a five-year, $170 million, or six years in order to lower the AAV.
“His eye at the plate is underrated,” an executive told ESPN. “Look at his walk-to-strikeout totals. That should age well.”
Marcus Semien, who signed a seven-year, $175 million going into his age-31 season, was tabbed as a comp for Bregman. ESPN believes Bregman won’t get that same kind of value, but the annual salary “should easily beat the $25 million per year Semien is getting.”
Bregman spent the 2025 season with the Boston Red Sox after he signed a three-year, $120 million with the club in February. He opted out of the final two years in November.
Boston remains interested in re-signing Bregman, but he’s expected to have several suitors.
“Alex earned the right contract-wise to opt out and see what’s going on,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said during the Winter Meetings. “And we know he was very important last year and there’s a lot of leaders out there who are good players, too. So we’ll see what the future holds.”
Bregman finished the 2025 season with a .273 batting average with 18 home runs and 62 RBI — numbers that likely would have been inflated had he not been sidelined with the quad injury.
The veteran infielder also brought significant leadership to the clubhouse and helped the team to its first postseason appearance since 2021.
The Red Sox have not made a big splash yet this winter and have missed out on big names like Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso, who went to the Philadelphia Phillies and the Baltimore Orioles, respectively.
It’s unclear if the Red Sox would give 31-year-old Bregman a five-year deal, but they would certainly benefit from bringing him back if they have postseason aspirations.
