Alex Bregman officially opts out of Red Sox contract

The inevitable for Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman came on Monday, with Bregman officially deciding to opt out of his contract with the club.

In what's a rapid-fire start to the offseason, Bregman's decision was reported by multiple reporters and outlets, and most notably by ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Originally signed to a three-year, $120 million contract by the Red Sox, Bregman's decision to opt out of his deal with Boston was by all means a formality more than anything else. It was almost known from the jump that barring something catastrophic, Bregman was going to take the deal with Boston, bet on himself, and try to land a bigger deal this offseason.

Of course, whether or not he can get that deal is now the question.

In action for 114 games this season, Bregman posted a .273 average with 18 home runs and 62 RBIs, along with an .821 OPS for the Red Sox. But his season was truly a tale of two halves, as Bregman struggled mightily upon his return from a significant quad injury, with a .250 average, .386 slugging percentage, and .727 OPS with just seven homers and 27 RBIs in 61 second-half games. Bregman then went 3-for-10 with one RBI in Boston’s three-game wild card round loss to the Yankees to close out his second-half run with the club.

Prior to the injury, Bregman hit .298 with a .546 slugging percentage and .927 OPS, and had 11 home runs and 35 RBIs in just 53 games for Boston.

Despite his obvious second-half cooldown at less than 100 percent, the 32-year-old Bregman clearly brought tremendous value to the Red Sox as a veteran leader, and repeatedly spoke about enjoying that role with the club.

Bregman is also a favorite of manager Alex Cora. So much so that the club was willing to almost purposely upset (and later trade) Rafael Devers just to get Bregman into the fold on what they knew was a one-year deal. It's almost hard to imagine the Red Sox having both and then having neither a season later.

But, again, it may all come back to what else is out there for Bregman.

Last offseason, Bregman had drawn considerable interest from the Tigers. Detroit is coming off an ALDS run, and considering their postseason struggles at the plate as a lineup (they hit .207 as a team in their eight-game playoff run), they may view Bregman as thee guy they need. The Cubs were also a team that had an interest in Bregman last offseason, and could want to reconvene with Bregman after going on an NLDS run, though they had top prospect Matt Shaw at third base for the majority of their 2025 season.

In addition to the Red Sox, Cubs, and Tigers, Bregman has also been linked to the Blue Jays, Phillies, and Yankees with free agency around the corner.

Baseball America currently has Bregman projected to earn a six-year, $180 million contract in free agency.