MLB super-agent Scott Boras has an M.O. with his clients: He wants them to hit free agency in order to ultimately get the maximum their value on the open market. That includes Alex Bregman, who signed a three-year deal with the Boston Red Sox this past offseason, but with opt-outs for 2026 and 2027, which he's expected to exercise this winter. However, the writing continues to be on the wall that Bregman wanted to be in Boston all along and wants to stay with the Red Sox.
While Bregman nears his return from the IL after missing more than a month with a quad injury, there have been recent reports that the former Astro is open to an extension with the Red Sox. Now, we have another report that from MLB insider Jon Heyman ($), not only iterates that Bregman would be willing to sign an extension to stay in Boston, but a note that can't be ignored about why that would be the case (and an added sense of urgency, it would seem, for the Red Sox to get such a deal done).
"Bregman surely won’t exercise his option to stay ($80M, two years) but he’s open to extension in Boston, which fits him," Heyman writes, via the New York Post. "Talks haven’t begun yet but there’s pressure to lock up Bregman after trading Devers to make room for him at 3B."
When you consider the source of that report, Boras's involvment in the equation, and Bregman's clear desire to stay in Boston, the writing is on the wall — and it's all great news for Red Sox fans.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Alex Bregman wants to be a Red Sox so badly, even Scott Boras can't stop him
I'm not going to go as far as to call Heyman "a mouthpiece" for Scott Boras as some have in the past. However, there is a clear connection between the agent and insider, and sometimes there is inherent messaging that could quite easily be tied to Boras and his client. This would certainly feel like one of those cases with Bregman and Boston.
Just looking back at free agency this winter, Bregman said himself on the Section 10 Podcast that he was almost about to sign somewhere else until the Red Sox came in at the 11th hour with a deal that he and Boras were happy with. The subtext throughout the offseason was the Bregman wanted to be playing 82 home games at Fenway Park. That has only continued throughout this season, as Bregman has become an instant fan-favorite in Boston and, by all accounts, has reciprocated that love with the city.
Now, we have a situation where Boras and Bregman are trying to walk the tightrope, especially given this latest report from Heyman. The fact that staying with the Red Sox is characterized as something that "fits him" by the insider is an indication (or confirmation) of the fact that, even if he opts out, he wants to stay. And the easiest way to ensure that is to get an extension done. So a potential urging from an insider pointed toward Boston and Craig Breslow to get that done would make sense from Heyman given all of that context.
And to be sure, the Red Sox need to take heed of that. There are going to be some fans who never forgive the front office for trading Devers away. Having said that, when you remove the emotion from the equation, the logical move is to make Bregman the new veteran face of the franchise to walk alongside and lead the likes of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Garrett Crochet and so on.
More importantly, though, it doesn't seem like Boras, in this instance, isn't just looking for the top dollar — he's looking for a payday in the spot that his client, Bregman, wants to be. With all these machinations working in Boston's favor, there's finally another reason for Red Sox fans to be optimistic about the future of Bregman and, as such, the franchise in a post-Devers era.