2:09 PM: Alex Bregman is heading to Chicago after landing with the Cubs on a five-year, $175 million contract that was first reported last night. That’s a crushing blow to the Red Sox, who have long been said to be prioritizing a reunion with Bregman after he opted out of his final two years and $80 million contract with the club in November. In the wake of Bregman’s departure, reports out of Boston shed some light on the efforts the Red Sox made to retain their All-Star, and where that offer ultimately fell short.
According to a report from Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe last night, the Red Sox “were not close financially and were unwilling to give Bregman a full no-trade clause, which the Cubs did.” Report today Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam of MassLive confirmed that the Red Sox were unwilling to offer Bregman a no-trade clause, adding that the team cited “organizational policy” regarding no-trade protection. That, McAdam writes, “proved to be a sticking point” for Bregman, who has young children and values stability for them as he enters his third straight year in a new city.
As for the financials, McAdam writes that the five-year offer was from Boston “fairly competitive”, but added that it fell short of Chicago’s offer financially. Like the Cubs’ offer, which includes $70 million in deferred money, the Red Sox’s offer also included significant deferrals. However, these deferred payments were planned differently, as McAdam notes that the Red Sox proposed a payment plan “which stretches for decades.” The exact payment details of Chicago’s offer are not yet known. McAdam notes that the decades-long payment structure Boston offered widened the gap between the two offers and further reduced the value of the Red Sox offer beyond its already lower sticker price, compared to the Cubs’ offer.
Exactly how the two offers stack up will be easier to judge once more details emerge about Bregman’s contract details in Chicago, but in any case, it appears that the offer the Red Sox are reportedly considering “aggressive” fell far short of what Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and his front office were able to put together. As a result, the Red Sox will have to look elsewhere for a new mid-range bat for their infield. Bob Nightengale of USA Today was among the reports that suggested in the wake of Bregman’s signing that the other best infielder on the market, shortstop Bo Bichettecould be the player they turn to. However, Bichette wants to sign for even more than Bregman; MLBTR predicted an eight-year contract worth $208 million for the infielder at the start of the offseason.
Part of this obviously has to do with the contract duration. Perhaps an eight-year contract for Bichette that runs through his age-35 season would be just as, if not more, attractive to the Red Sox than signing Bregman during his age-36 season to a five-year deal. On the other hand, it’s worth noting that this Red Sox front office has yet to extend a contract longer than three years via free agency. If the team in general has an aversion to long-term deals, it would be difficult for the Red Sox to outbid rival suitors for Bichette, such as the Phillies and Yankees, who have no qualms about signing free agents to long contracts.
If the Red Sox are unwilling to deal Bichette, the choice for replacement Bregman becomes much smaller. Eugene Suarez offers a lot of power and could be a good fit for a shorter-term deal in free agency, but he struggled in the second half last year, will play at age 34 this year and is a lackluster defender in the hot corner. As for the trade market, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported shortly before the new year that the Red Sox had narrowed their focus to five infield options: Bregman, Bichette, Kettle Marte, Isaac ParedesAnd Brendan Donovan. With Bregman in Chicago and Marte officially off the market by Arizona, Paredes and Donovan remain the top two alternatives to Bichette in that report.
Of the two, Paredes seems like the better match. Both will be controlled for two seasons after this, but Paredes is a right-handed hitter who will likely cost less than Donovan in return. While Paredes has been pushed out of the Astros’ nominal starting lineup with the addition of Carlos Correa During the summer, Donovan’s market is known to have many suitors, including the Giants, Mariners and Royals. Additionally, Paredes is a right-handed hitter who plays primarily at third base, making him a much cleaner replacement for Bregman than Donovan, a left-handed hitter who has played all over the field but plays primarily at second base. Paredes is also a marginally better hitter over the past four seasons (124 wRC+ vs. 119) and is coming off a stronger platform season (128 wRC+ vs. 119). Paredes (hamstring injury) and Donovan (sports hernia surgery) both ended their seasons with injury complications, but are expected to be full-go for Spring Training next month.
It is of course possible that the club are looking at other options as their favorite targets start to dwindle. The Cubs themselves now have a surplus of talent on the field after bringing in the displaced Bregman Matt Shaw at third base. Adding another unproven youngster to a very young Red Sox roster probably wouldn’t be particularly appealing, but Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner has received trade interest this winter and could be more available now that Bregman has freed Shaw to take over the cornerback role in a hypothetical Hoerner trade. Hoerner is an elite defender at second base who has also put up strong numbers at shortstop in the past. He is highly regarded in the clubhouse and can help fill the leadership void left by the loss of Bregman.
That said, his 109 wRC+ last year was a career high, and it’s unlikely his lack of power will be particularly attractive to a team like the Red Sox, who finished middle of the pack in home runs last year and expressed interest in landing a big slugger like Kyle Schwarber or Pete Alonso earlier this winter in hopes of improving that area of the offense. It’s also an open question whether the Cubs would be inclined to deal with Hoerner at all, if an infield of Bregman, Hoerner, Dansby Swanson And Michael Busch would be among the strongest in baseball heading into 2026. Additionally, Hoerner is set to hit free agency after the 2026 campaign and the Red Sox may prefer to add a player under longer-term control for fear of finding themselves in the same predicament again next year.
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