Crane’s comments notably conflict with a report back in February that indicated Houston had upped its offer to Bregman from that initial 6/156 figure. As Spring Training approached with Bregman still on the market, there were signals that the sides had resumed discussions as the club toyed with the idea of moving Jose Altuve to left field and Isaac Paredes to second base in order to bring Bregman back into the fold. While Altuve has moved to left field, Paredes remains entrenched at third in the aftermath of Bregman moving on to the Red Sox. After Bregman landed in Boston, the Astros pivoted towards Brendan Rodgers, who will share time with Mauricio Dubon at the keystone this year, to round out their infield mix.

More from Houston…

• Rome also reports that right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. will make a start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday. It’s a big milestone for the 31-year-old, as he hasn’t thrown in an official game at the major or minor league level since the 2022 World Series after undergoing flexor surgery back in 2023. That layoff of more than two years could come to an end fairly soon if the righty can avoid additional setbacks, as he’s tentatively expected to return in about a month and has to this point been kept off of the 60-day injured list.
• News regarding the club’s other injured starter, Luis Garcia, is less positive but still at least somewhat encouraging. Manager Joe Espada told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) that the first opinion Garcia received on his right elbow was “decent news,” though that hasn’t stopped Garcia and the Astros from seeking a second opinion on the matter before deciding on a course of action. The right-hander was shut down last week after he began feeling discomfort in his elbow again while nearing the end of his rehab following Tommy John surgery back in 2023. While it’s unclear how much longer the 28-year-old figures to be out of action, that Espada showed any signs of encouragement would at least suggest that the righty has not yet been recommended for Tommy John surgery, which would wipe out his 2025 season and likely much of the 2026 campaign as well.
• Rounding out the news with a positive update, first baseman Christian Walker is reportedly “full go” to start the season after dealing with some oblique soreness in the final weeks of Spring Training. As Walker himself told Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle and other reporters, Walker’s oblique issue “wasn’t too aggressive to begin with” and that he’s facing zero limitations as the season begins. Walker was the biggest acquisition of the club’s offseason, signed to a three-year, $60MM deal to replace the lackluster combination of Jose Abreu and Jon Singleton at first base this year for Houston.

It’s not a shock given recent developments but still notable to get a firm declaration on what will be a surprising pivot for the club. Devers has been Boston’s third baseman for a long time and seemed likely to stay there well into the future. The club signed him to a massive extension ahead of the 2023 season, locking him up through 2033. His defense was never well regarded but it seemed that he would get a chance to stick at the hot corner for a while based on his status within the organization.

Even once Bregman was signed, it seemed possible that Devers would stay at third. Bregman’s reps had maintained throughout the winter that he was willing to move to second base as a way to keep his market as open as possible. The Sox came into 2025 with some notable middle infield prospects but didn’t have a clear everyday guy at second in 2024.

But as alluded to, the plans became more clear as time went on. Bregman was only playing third base in camp. Devers wasn’t playing many official spring games and was only serving as the DH when he was in there. It was suggested that perhaps this was due to some shoulder problems he dealt with last year but it has become abundantly clear that the club just wants him to DH this year. Prospect Kristian Campbell will crack the Opening Day roster and seemingly be the regular second baseman.

The move makes sense from a competitive standpoint. Devers has been credited with -62 Defensive Runs Saved and -29 Outs Above Average in his career. Bregman’s tallies in those categories are +27 DRS and +22 OAA.

That’s an obvious choice in a vacuum but it’s unclear if there will be intangible effects in terms of clubhouse morale. Devers was initially adamant that he wouldn’t be moving off third, saying that he was promised that he could be there for the long haul. That promise was made while Chaim Bloom was still the chief baseball officer but he was later replaced by Craig Breslow. The new regime seems uninterested in honoring the promise of the previous one.

There are other questions left to be answered as well. Bregman’s three-year deal comes with opt-outs after each season. If he departs after 2025, will Devers get a chance to retake the spot next year? What if Bregman suffers a significant injury during the 2025 season?

Then there’s also the Masataka Yoshida factor. He made his major league debut in 2023 with a solid .289/.338/.445 line and 110 wRC+, but with bad defensive metrics in the outfield. Last year, he logged just a single inning in the field, limited to DH duty. His offense was similar to the year before, with a .280/.349/.415 line and 115 wRC+, but he apparently wasn’t thrilled with the arrangement.

He required shoulder surgery in October and is going to start the season on the injured list. He was healthy enough to hit during the spring but still needs to fully ramp up his throwing abilities in the wake of that surgery. With Devers in the DH spot, he will have to jog out onto the grass into order to get into the lineup. The Sox project to have Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu in three outfield spots, with Rob Refsnyder on the bench. Prospect Roman Anthony will also be pushing for a major league debut soon.

If everyone’s healthy, it will be tough for Yoshida to work his way in there. He still has three years and $54MM left on his deal. Given his modest production thus far, no other club will want to take all of that on. Rebuilding trade value will be tough if he can’t get in there fore regular playing time. Moving to first base isn’t an option for Devers or Yoshida with Triston Casas in that spot and under club control through 2028.

It’s a complicated puzzle and one that will probably continue to be talked about throughout the year. Cora’s declaration today gives confirmation to what was already obvious. The unanswered questions remain.

Grissom entered spring in the mix for Boston’s Opening Day second base job. He and David Hamilton were trying to hold off top middle infield prospects Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer. The Alex Bregman signing muddled the picture, but it seems the Sox intend to keep the longtime third baseman at the hot corner.

Bregman hasn’t played any second base this spring. Manager Alex Cora told reporters (including Chad Jennings of The Athletic) that the Sox don’t intend to get Rafael Devers any third base reps in camp. With Masataka Yoshida expected to open the season on the injured list, Devers will probably start the year as a full-time designated hitter while Bregman handles third.

Acquired from the Braves for Chris Sale in the 2023-24 offseason, Grissom had a rough first year with the Sox. He missed time with strains in both hamstrings and didn’t hit when healthy. He managed a .190/.246/.219 slash without a home run in 114 MLB plate appearances. Hamilton jumped him for the majority of the second base playing time down the stretch. Grissom spent a good chunk of the year at Triple-A Worcester.

A healthy offseason provided some hope that the 24-year-old would recapture the promising offensive form he has shown in the minors. He didn’t show much in camp, though, as he hit .176 without a homer in 14 games. He’s no longer in the running for a spot on the Opening Day roster. He’ll begin the year back in Worcester. Grissom has an excellent .307/.408/.459 slash in nearly 700 Triple-A plate appearances over the last two seasons. His plate discipline still makes him an intriguing player, but he has dropped down the organization’s middle infield depth chart.

Hamilton, Campbell and Mayer remain on the major league side of camp. The lefty-swinging Hamilton is the only member of that trio who is on the 40-man roster or has MLB experience. He hit .248/.303/.395 with eight homers and 33 stolen bases over 98 games last season. He has swiped five more bases with a pair of homers while batting .239 over 18 games this spring.

Mayer and Campbell are generally ranked among the top prospects in the sport. Mayer, who hasn’t played in Triple-A, hit .307/.370/.480 over 335 Double-A plate appearances last season. He’s hitting .357/.438/.536 in an impressive spring showing. Mayer has never played second base in the minors — all but two of his appearances have come at shortstop — but he’s getting reps on the right side of the bag in camp. Trevor Story is locked in at shortstop, so it makes sense to get Mayer reps at other positions.

Campbell is primarily a second baseman who has experience in the outfield and at third base. He improved his stock more than any other minor leaguer last season. The 2023 fourth-rounder hit .330/.439/.558 to reach Triple-A in his first full professional season. He has had a tough Spring Training. Campbell has fanned in a third of his plate appearances while batting .158 in 45 plate appearances. While that doesn’t mean much for his prospect status, it’s something the Sox will need to weigh as they decide whether he should break camp.

Whether he actually asked for a trade or not isn’t known. He spoke to the media yesterday, saying that he had some private conversations with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Álex Cora, but without going into detail about how those conversations went.

He struck a conciliatory tone yesterday, saying that he will play wherever the team tells him to play, but he previously made it clear that he would prefer to stay at third base. When discussing the situation a month ago, he insisted that he was a third baseman and intended to stay a third baseman.

When he signed a mega extension in January of 2023, Devers was promised he could be the club’s long-term third baseman. However, that promise was made under CBO Chaim Bloom, who is no longer with the club. The latest drama suggests the Breslow regime isn’t so committed to keeping that promise. Per McAdam’s report today, Devers was assured throughout this offseason that the speculation surrounding Boston’s interest in Bregman and Nolan Arenado were just speculative.

Once Bregman signed, some believed that he would take over second base, with Devers staying at third. But more recently, Bregman has continued to line up at the hot corner during spring contests, making it seem as though a move to second base isn’t an immediate concern. Devers has been slow-playing his spring ramp up. He had some soreness in both shoulders last year and spent the winter trying to strengthen both of them. He came into camp a bit behind everyone else and has been taking part in some live BP and intrasquad games, but no official action yet.

While no public declaration has been made, it certainly seems as though the plan is for Bregman to take over third base while Devers serves as the designated hitter. It’s always been expected that Devers would be moved off the hot corner, since he’s not a good fielder. He has tallies of -62 Defensive Runs Saved and -29 Outs Above Average in his career. Moving to first base or DH at some point has been seen as inevitable, but this seems to have arrived sooner than anyone anticipated, certainly sooner than what Devers had been promised a couple of years ago.

While he shifted his public comments, it’s anyone’s guess if he has changed his private feelings on the matter. It will be a situation to watch throughout the season, as little is carved in stone. Bregman’s deal affords him opt-out chances after each year, so it’s possible he could be gone by November. Maybe Devers will be able to take his position again in 2026 but the club probably still considers him a liability there.

His deal runs through 2033, so a move to first base or DH feels like his eventually destiny, but perhaps he can carve out a few more years at third before that becomes permanent. Notably, that deal does not afford him any no-trade protection. If the relationship between Devers and the front office is damaged beyond repair, they could freely trade him wherever they want without having to worry about his preferences. As noted by McAdam, the team isn’t going to publicly say anything if they are trying to trade Devers, since that would be bad for leverage. And there’s no indication that they have any plans on making him available.

How the dominos fall over the rest of this year and into the future could have other impacts. Triston Casas projects as the club’s regular first baseman for now. Masataka Yoshida is not a great defensive outfielder, which makes him another DH candidate. With Devers now perhaps moving off third, Yoshida might have to spend more time in the outfield next to Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Roman Anthony. Prospect Kristian Campbell is another outfield candidate but he can also play second base. Then again, the club has Trevor Story at short with prospect Marcelo Mayer working into the middle infield mix.

Given all those moving pieces, there are have been trade rumors surrounding Casas, Yoshida and Abreu over the winter. The idea of Devers being available never seemed to be a consideration but is perhaps a bit more feasible in light of the apparent souring of relations over the past month. If a Devers trade becomes a realistic possibility at some point in the future, it could also impact Arenado’s market. The Cards weren’t able to execute an Arenado trade this offseason but would probably try again at the deadline or in future offseasons.

Devers revealed that he has shared some thoughts with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Álex Cora, but didn’t go into detail about what he said in those conversations. “We spoke already, and I’m good to do whatever they want me to do,” said Devers through translator Daveson Perez. “I’m here to help. I’ve already spoken with them about that, and they know where I stand. I’m just ready to play.”

He was also asked how he would feel if he were the designated hitter on Opening Day, with Bregman at third. “Good,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s not my decision. I don’t call the shots around here. So I feel good. I’ll go out there and do what I need to do.”

There are a few elements making the situation awkward. Bregman is clearly the better defender, for one. For his career, Devers has tallies of -62 Defensive Runs Saved and -29 Outs Above Average at the hot corner. Bregman has +27 DRS and +22 OAA. Devers also battled soreness in both shoulders last year and spent most of the winter trying to build strength in those shoulders. He has been a bit behind schedule in terms of game action. He still hasn’t appeared in any official spring contests, just live batting practice and intrasquad games.

Devers tried to downplay the issue with his shoulders today. “I really don’t know why there’s been such a big deal made about my shoulders,” Devers said. “Since the first day here at camp, I’ve been saying that my shoulders are good, and that they’re good right now. So I don’t know why it’s been put out there, the rumors of my shoulders being bad, but they’re good right now.”

Though there are on-paper reasons to put Bregman at third, Devers has understandably been less than thrilled by the changes. Last month, he said that he was promised he could be a long-term third baseman when he signed his ten-year extension in January of 2023. But it was implied by Cora that the third base promise was made by previous CBO Chaim Bloom, who was later fired and now works for the Cardinals.

It had been speculated that the Sox could move Bregman to second base, where he has some limited experience, while having Devers at third. But Bregman has only been at the hot corner during spring, so moving him to the keystone doesn’t seem to be in the short-term plans. Perhaps that suggests Devers will be a primary designated hitter this year, though no firm declarations to that effect have been publicly made by any team personnel.

If Devers is the DH on something like an everyday basis, that would mean Masataka Yoshida would have to be in the outfield mix. It’s possible that Yoshida could start the season on the IL due to his own shoulder injury, though he may have to try to crack the outfield mix whenever he’s healthy.

As of now, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu project as the regular outfielders, though Abreu will start the season on the IL as he recovers from a gastrointestinal virus. Rob Refsnyder might get more playing time in the short term, or perhaps non-roster invitee Trayce Thompson. As the season goes along, prospects Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell might factor in, though Campbell could also take the second base job if Bregman isn’t in it. Guys like David Hamilton, Romy González, Nick Sogard or Vaughn Grissom could hold the keystone for the time being.

There are still many moving pieces and the arrangement on Opening Day might be very different from the way the club lines up throughout the year, depending on health and performance. But it will be a situation worth watching, both this year and down the road. Bregman can opt out of his contract after each year, so he might not be in Boston in 2026. However, Devers’ poor defense has often led to speculation about him moving to first base or DH at some point. If the Sox decide to move him off now, they may not want to move him back next year even if Bregman is gone.

For now, Devers has made his position clear to the club’s decision makers but has also accepted that the situation is out of his control. “I just want to help the team win,” he said today. “At the end of the day, whatever position I’m playing, I always take these things as a competition and as a way to get better. That’s how I see it, I’m ready to help the team win.”

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

• The Red Sox signing Alex Bregman (1:15)
• The Tigers just missing on Bregman (9:35)
• The Cardinals seemingly holding onto Nolan Arenado (12:15)
• The Padres signing Nick Pivetta and Kyle Hart (17:40)
• The Blue Jays not getting an extension done with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (20:50)
• The Diamondbacks extending Geraldo Perdomo (31:30)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

• The Twins had a quiet offseason but projection systems have them winning the division. Are they the best team in the AL Central? (38:25)
• Why did the Giants have a quiet offseason apart from Willy Adames and Justin Verlander? Was it ownership reluctance or Buster Posey’s conservative stance? (42:25)

Check out our past episodes!

• Pete Alonso’s Deal, And Potential Landing Spots For Bregman and Arenado – listen here
• Jack Flaherty Back To Detroit, Max Scherzer, And What’s Next For The Padres – listen here
• Ryan Pressly To The Cubs, Bregman’s Future, And Jurickson Profar – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

As for that previously-reported offer from Detroit, Petzold reports that $40MM of it would have been deferred. That’s a sizable amount but notably less than the deal Bregman accepted with the Red Sox. Though the sticker price on the Boston deal is $120MM over three years, $40MM average annual value, there are $20MM in annual deferrals for a $60MM total.

Bregman didn’t accept that offer from the Tigers but seemed perfectly open to joining the club, as his camp made a few counter offers. One of them was for $200MM over seven years, which would have been a $28.6MM AAV. The other was $186MM over six years, $31MM AAV, with an opt-out after 2025. Neither of those offers from Bregman/Boras to the Tigers included deferred money.

Those asks align with previous reporting on what Bregman was looking for in free agency. In the earlier parts of the offseason, he and the Astros seemed to be having a bit of a staring contest. Houston offered $156MM over six years, $26MM AAV, but Bregman reportedly wanted to get closer to $200MM and didn’t like the idea of taking a pay cut in terms of AAV. As part of Bregman’s previous extension with Houston, he made $28.5MM salaries in each of the final two years of the deal. The Astros walked away, which led clubs like the Red Sox, Tigers and Cubs emerging as frontrunners for his services.

His two counter offers to Detroit would have put him a bit above that Houston AAV but it seems the Tigers weren’t quite willing to go there. The previously-reported six-year, $171.5MM offer from Detroit would have led to an AAV of $28.6MM in terms of the sticker price, but the deferrals would have knocked that down. The degree to which the AAV would have dropped would have depended on how far into the future that money was deferred, but it surely would have been below the $28.5MM AAV that Bregman seemed determined to top, or at least match.

When pivoting to a short-term deal, a player usually sacrifices a bit of overall guarantee for greater earning power in the short term. There were reports in the offseason that Bregman was resisting such a pivot, presumably because he had these decent six-year offers from Houston and Detroit. However, since they didn’t quite live up to his expectations, he eventually did turn to a shorter pact. The $40MM AAV he got from the Red Sox is apparently going to be calculated as $31.7MM for competitive balance tax purposes when factoring in the deferrals, but that still allows Bregman to get an AAV bump compared to his last deal.

Whether that will prove to be a wise pivot remains to be seen. Last offseason, several players pivoted to short-term pacts that fell below initial market expectations. Most prominently, the so-called “Boras Four” of Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman took this path. That has already paid off for Chapman and Snell, who each eventually landed the mega deals they were seeking. Chapman initially got $54MM over three years from the Giants but then signed a six-year $151MM extension late in the 2024 season. Snell got $62MM over two years from San Francisco, opted out and then got $182MM over five years from the Dodgers.

For Bellinger and Montgomery, the jury is still out. Bellinger got $80MM over three years from the Cubs, had a good-not-great season and decided not to opt out. He has since been traded to the Yankees and has another opt-out chance after this season. Montgomery got just one-year and $25MM guaranteed but with a vesting option. He vested the $20MM player option and bumped the value to $22.5MM by making at least 18 starts, but decided not to return to free agency after posting a 6.23 earned run average. Montgomery left Boras and later accused the agent of having “butchered” his free agency.

Like those players, Bregman has opt-outs after each year of his deal. He clearly had an idea of where he considered his value to be and went out looking for it this winter. He didn’t fully get everything he was looking for, leaving some long-term money on the table to get the AAV he wanted in the short term. He will have the ability to try again in the future, perhaps as soon as eight-ish months from now.

For the Tigers, though they didn’t get a deal done, it does showcase a greater willingness to spend than they have otherwise. Since Scott Harris has taken over as president of baseball operations, they have avoided long-term commitments. No free agent has signed a deal longer than two years. The club did agree to a six-year extension with Colt Keith, but that only committed the club to his pre-existing window of control. The three club options could keep him around beyond that period but the club will also have the ability to walk away.

The Bregman negotiations show that there are no hard lines against making longer deals and that the club would consider making such an investment if the stars aligned. Perhaps the Tigers could circle back to Bregman next winter if he opts out, though their interest will naturally depend on how things play out in Detroit this year. Young infielders like Keith, Jace Jung, Trey Sweeney and Spencer Torkelson should all be vying for playing time and their performances could determine how forcefully the Tigers look to make a big infield addition next winter.

The uncertainty around Bregman’s future position stems primarily from the desire of incumbent third base star Rafael Devers to continue playing the field for the foreseeable future. Devers, still just 28, moving to DH this early into his career would be unusual for even a defensively-limited star player. Miguel Cabrera was still the Tigers’ starting third baseman during his age-30 season back in 2013. Aside from Devers’ personal desire to continue playing third, a move to DH for Devers would seemingly leave little room for Masataka Yoshida in the club’s plans, restricting him either to mostly bench duties, forcing him into the outfield on a regular basis, or pushing him off the roster entirely. From an offensive perspective, Yoshida is likely to be far more valuable to pencil into the lineup card than the relatively uninspiring second base options like Vaughn Grissom and David Hamilton that the Red Sox used last year.

With that being said, Bregman is the reigning AL Gold Glove award winner at the hot corner and has just 32 innings of experience at the keystone to this point in his career. Hardware isn’t always the best metric to evaluate a player’s defense by, but the difference between Bregman and Devers is stark when looking at advanced metrics: Bregman sat in the 91st percentile among fielders for his work at third base last year in terms of Outs Above Average, while Devers was in the 8th percentile. Bregman made clear throughout his free agency that he was ready and willing to play second base if it was asked of him, and Red Sox brass have indicated confidence in his ability to play the position. Even so, it’s impossible to deny that the best version of the Red Sox defensively would surely involve Bregman at third base, Devers at DH, and a steady glove like Hamilton (who posted a +3 OAA at the keystone last year) at second.

It can be argued, then, that the decision boils down to a question of offense versus defense. Playing Bregman at second base allows the club to keep Yoshida in the lineup to open the season more easily, though that will cost the club by forcing an less than ideal defensive alignment. Meanwhile, inserting Hamilton and his 92 wRC+ from last season as the Opening Day second baseman and shifting Yoshida to the bench would leave the club with an undeniably weaker offense but would give the club a quality defensive unit with Bregman and Hamilton flanking Trevor Story on the infield dirt. Using this logic, a Boston club that ranked 11th in the majors with a 104 wRC+ last year even before bringing in Bregman but ranked sixth from the bottom in both OAA and Fangraphs’ defense metric might be better off prioritizing run prevention over run creation.

Other factors are at play as well, however. It’s hard to say from an external perspective exactly how the relationship between Devers and the Red Sox would be impacted by the club supplanting him at third base, but all indications are that the club’s incumbent star is adamant about his desire to remain at the hot corner. It’s also fair to note that Yoshida is expected to be available to play the outfield more frequently this year after he underwent shoulder surgery back in October. Once his shoulder has recovered enough for him to play on the grass, the club could theoretically start Jarren Duran in center field and Yoshida in left before benching Yoshida late in games to shift Duran to left field and put glove-first utility man Ceddanne Rafaela in center field for a stronger defensive outfield when the club holds a lead.

Perhaps the biggest variable in this situation, however, is Kristian Campbell. MLB.com’s #7 prospect in the sport had a clear pathway to everyday playing time as soon as Opening Day before Bregman was signed, but reporting since the Bregman deal has indicated that the Red Sox still want to give Campbell the opportunity to earn a spot on the everyday roster. Campbell has primarily played second base to this point in the minors and his presence on the club’s roster, in the event that he makes the team, could spur the Red Sox to pull the trigger on moving Devers to DH.

With that said, Campbell is a versatile defender who has outfield experience as well, making it at least plausible that the club could plug him into the lineup in left field with Duran in center and Rafaela either on the bench or at Triple-A should they wish to play Bregman at second and Devers at third. That would only be a temporary solution, however, as top prospect Roman Anthony is also knocking on the door of the majors and seems likely to be debut at some point in the first half. Anthony is a well-regarded defensive outfielder and figures to take over regular reps at one of the club’s outfield spots upon his debut, which would seemingly push Campbell back to the infield unless the club was willing to bench Wilyer Abreu in right field.

With so many complicated factors at play for the Red Sox this spring, where do MLBTR readers land on the issue? Should the club prioritize its defense and move Devers to DH, opening up the hot corner for Bregman and making it easier to fit their prospects into the lineup? Or would they be better off putting Bregman at second base, avoiding the risk of discontent from Devers and allowing Yoshida to remain a fixture of the club’s lineup more easily? Have your say in the poll below:

Rafael Devers’ camp has made clear all offseason that the Sox’s longtime third baseman has no interest in a position change. Devers forcefully stated as much when speaking to the Boston beat this morning. “No. I play third,” he said through an interpreter when asked about his willingness to move off the position (link via Chris Cotillo of MassLive). “It’s my decision … My position is third base. Whatever it is they want to do is what they want to do. But my position is third base.”

Cora again reiterated that the Red Sox haven’t made any decisions. “He’s going to work out as the third baseman. And we’re going to make decisions accordingly. Here, it’s not about Bregman or Devers or Cora,” the manager said. “It’s for the Boston Red Sox. Whatever decision we make is going to be for the benefit of the team.”

Interestingly, Cora acknowledged that the Red Sox promised Devers that he’d be their long-term third baseman at the time the sides agreed on a 10-year extension in January 2023. That agreement came under a previous front office regime, as then-chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was fired eight months later. Craig Breslow is now running baseball operations. Cora downplayed the significance of that promise as a result, saying it was under “different leadership. That was under Chaim” (relayed by Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic). Of course, Cora was the manager at the time of the extension, so there hasn’t been a leadership change in the clubhouse.

Devers was asked whether he’d seek a trade if the Red Sox forced him to move off third base. He didn’t rule that out but said it hasn’t been a focus. “That’s a tough answer to give. I haven’t given it much thought. I’ve been here my entire career,” he said (via McCaffrey). “I haven’t asked myself that question. I’m open to listening. I’m not close to those conversations.”

The most straightforward solution is still to keep Devers at third base and move Bregman to second. That’d block the clearest path to playing time for top prospect Kristian Campbell, who combined for a .330/.439/.558 slash in an incredible first full minor league season. Campbell had a roughly even share of playing time at each of second base, shortstop and in center field. He also picked up a few starts at third base.

While Boston could have Campbell open the season in Triple-A Worcester, they should be able to find ways to get him into the lineup if they feel he’s ready for an MLB call. If the Sox preferred to keep him at one position as a rookie, second base was the obvious choice before the Bregman signing. Unless they force Devers’ hand by pushing him to DH, they’d need to use Campbell in more of a utility role (at least until someone gets injured).

Campbell is versatile enough to bounce around while still playing regularly. He could spell Trevor Story at shortstop while rotating through the outfield. He’s unlikely to be as good a defensive center fielder as Ceddanne Rafaela, but he’d bring a higher offensive ceiling. Campbell’s right-handed bat could complement the lefty-swinging corner outfield tandem of Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu, as well as lefty-hitting DH Masataka Yoshida. Duran will play almost every day regardless of the opposing pitchers’ handedness. The Sox could use Abreu and/or Yoshida in more of a platoon capacity.

There’d be a defensive tradeoff. Devers has graded as a below-average defender in essentially every season of his career. Defensive Runs Saved had him nine runs below par last year, while Statcast graded him at five runs below average. Bregman rated 5-6 runs above average by those metrics and is coming off his first Gold Glove win. Bregman shouldn’t have much issue moving to second base. He’s a good athlete who likely would have spent most of his career in the middle infield had he not broken into an Astros team that had Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve. Still, there’d be a stronger defensive alignment with Bregman at third and one of Campbell or David Hamilton at second base.

For the Sox, the question is whether that’s worth alienating a player they’ve viewed as one of the faces of the franchise. Devers is signed through age 36. His defensive grades aren’t likely to improve as he approaches his 30s. At some point, the Sox are likely to push him off the position. Story and Bregman are each signed for three more seasons. They can both opt out after this year, though that seems unlikely for Story and at least debatable for Bregman (who’d be leaving a $40MM average annual value on the table).

Even if they’re comfortable using Campbell in a utility role for a season, they’ll probably want an everyday infield position available for him and top shortstop prospect Marcelo Mayer by next year. This should be workable in the short term but could pose some interesting questions before long.

“We’ll talk about that later on,” Cora said when asked where Bregman will play, as relayed by Cotillo. “Right now, there’s a lot of stuff going on as far as we’re going to be roster-wise. We’ll make the decision when we have to make it… He’s a Gold Glove third baseman. He hasn’t played second base in the big leagues. I do believe he can be a Gold Glove second baseman, too. There’s other stuff that comes into play as far as roster construction and what’s better for the team and what can be the best lineup.”

Cotillo reports that Cora’s hesitance to name a defined position for Bregman reflects real uncertainty within the organization about how the club’s lineup with shake out from a positional standpoint. According to Cotillo, the club is making an effort to keep a path open for top infield prospect Kristian Campbell to break camp with the team on Opening Day. Campbell has experience at shortstop and in the outfield but has long seemed best suited for second base with the Red Sox. Cotillo suggests that Bregman could see time at both second and third base if Campbell makes the club’s roster, while Campbell himself could see time in left field in addition to his work at the keystone with Jarren Duran moving over to center. Devers, presumably, would slide over to DH on days where Bregman is at the hot corner.

If Campbell is ready for his big league debut, it’s hard to argue with the logic in keeping an open mind about how to make the pieces fit in the lineup. While Devers has been adamant about his desire to continue playing the field, Bregman and Campbell would likely be a more robust pairing defensively than Devers and Bregman given Bregman’s lack of experience at second base and Devers’s lackluster defensive numbers. It’s also not hard to imagine Campbell providing more on offense than the players who could have their playing time impacted by the decision to roster both Campbell and Bregman. In particular, Cotillo notes that Masataka Yoshida and Ceddanne Rafaela could be at risk of having their playing time reduced or even losing their roster spots if Campbell makes the team out of camp.

Speculatively speaking, it would be possible to get both players in the lineup on occasion even with Campbell in the fold. If the club were to play Bregman at third base with Campbell at second against left-handed pitching, that would likely push Devers to DH and Yoshida to the bench. That would allow Duran to play left field with Rafaela’s superior glove in center. Against right-handers, Devers could reclaim the hot corner with Bregman moving to the key stone, Campbell heading to left field, and Duran sliding over to center with Rafaela on the bench. Yoshida is a career .239/.318/.351 hitter against southpaws and playing him in a strict platoon role may be Boston’s preference regardless of how the decision regarding Campbell shakes out.

The righty-swinging Rafaela has reverse splits to this point in his young career, which would make him an imperfect choice to start primarily against lefty pitchers, but his true calling card is his defense and a combination of Duran, Rafaela, and Rob Refsnyder on the grass against southpaws would give the Red Sox an excellent defensive outfield. With that being said, if the Red Sox hope to develop Rafaela into a true everyday player at some point rather than the super utility role he currently finds himself in, the club may prefer to get him everyday playing time in Triple-A rather than sporadic reps in the majors. It’s also worth noting that carrying all three of Campbell, Rafaela, and Yoshida on the roster would effectively shrink the club’s bench, leaving just one roster spot available for Romy Gonzalez, David Hamilton, and Vaughn Grissom.

Of course, all of this is predicated on Campbell hitting well enough this spring to earn a spot on the club’s Opening Day roster. Should Campbell look over-matched this spring, it seems likely the club would simply allow him more time to develop at Triple-A and use Bregman at second base on a regular basis until and unless Campbell earns a promotion to the majors. Even if Campbell can’t crack the big league roster on Opening Day, however, it seems likely he’ll get his first taste of the majors at some point this year, and this latest reporting provides a meaningful glimpse at what the club’s thought process could look like if Campbell forces his way onto the roster later in the year after not making the cut this spring.

Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris told reporters (including Chris McCosky of the Detroit News) that he wasn’t disappointed by Bregman’s decision to head to Boston.  “We made a compelling offer to Alex Bregman but he chose to sign somewhere else.  That’s fine.  We knew that was a possibility throughout the process, and we planned for that outcome,” Harris said.

The fact that the Tigers made such a push for Bregman was itself notable, as it represented the first time since Harris was hired in September 2022 that Detroit truly appeared willing to stretch the budget on a long-term free agent commitment.  Jack Flaherty (whose deal contains a player option for 2026) and Kenta Maeda are the only free agents to receive even a two-year contract during Harris’ relatively brief tenure.  Harris praised team owner Chris Illitch for giving “us the flexibility to chase some key free agents,” so the strategy is apparently less about money than it is about Harris’ oft-stated desire to build primarily around the Tigers’ young core.

“We don’t want to be that organization that is desperate to sign a specific free agent or hinging on our current plan or our future plans on a certain free agent,” Harris said.  “We have to be dependent on the young talent we’re acquiring and developing….I will say we feel like what we did this offseason, we made the moves we needed to make. We supplemented this young, emerging group with guys who can make the team better without blocking our young players.”

“It didn’t make sense for us, before or after Alex, to pivot to someone who would just take our money.  In recent winters, we’ve seen teams continuing to pivot until someone takes their money.  It may win a press release, but it may not actually push your organization forward.  We were very conscious of that throughout the winter and we were very targeted about the players we wanted to add to this group.”

Beyond the reunion with Flaherty, the Tigers also signed Alex Cobb to further bolster the rotation, and added veteran relievers Tommy Kahnle and John Brebbia on one-year deals.  On the position-player side, Gleyber Torres was signed to a one-year, $14MM contract to step in as the new everyday second baseman, pushing Colt Keith into a first base role.

The right-handed hitting Torres also gives Detroit a bit more balance within a lineup that still pretty heavy with left-handed bats.  Acquiring a marquee righty-swinger like Bregman would have further helped with that balance and naturally boosted the offense as a whole, and Harris hasn’t closed the door on still addressing this need.

“There hasn’t been a ton of options for us to add a second right-handed bat,” the PBO said.  “We don’t think there is going to be one coming through free agency.  We’re going to explore trade options but we feel really good about the group we have, and we think it is a group that’s going to continue to get better.”

With this internal focus in mind, Harris cited Jace Jung, Matt Vierling, and Andy Ibanez as the chief in-house candidates for third base work.  “It’s going to be a competition in Spring Training” to decide exactly how the playing time might be divvied up, and Harris noted that “we have a really talented manager [A.J. Hinch] who is going to find the right matchup for those guys.”

Feb. 13: The deferred money in the contract knocks the net present value of Bregman’s three-year deal into the $90MM range, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports. Per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe and Chris Cotillo of MassLive, the AAV will be calculated as $31.7MM for CBT purposes. Speier adds that there’s a $5MM signing bonus, followed by a $35MM salary in 2025, then $40MM salaries in the final two seasons.

Feb. 12: The Red Sox are reportedly in agreement with Alex Bregman on a three-year, $120MM deal. The Boras Corporation client receives massive $40MM salaries in each season, though an unreported amount of that money is deferred. Bregman can opt out after each of the first two seasons. The team has yet to officially announce the signing.

Boston gets the best remaining free agent by offering a massive annual sum. Bregman reportedly had a standing six-year offer valued at $156MM from the Astros for most of the offseason. The Tigers reportedly put forth a six-year, $171.5MM proposal, while the Cubs offered a $120MM guarantee over a four-year term. As of last month, Bregman remained committed to a long-term deal. The Sox’s willingness to offer one of the biggest AAVs in league history changed the calculus.

It marks the end of an illustrious tenure in Houston. The second overall pick in the 2015 draft, Bregman was in the majors within a year of coming out of LSU. He immediately locked down third base. He hit .284/.352/.475 over his first full big league campaign, helping the Astros to their first World Series title in 2017. He was one of the top handful of players in baseball over the next two seasons. Bregman secured consecutive top five finishes in AL MVP balloting while combining for a .291/.409/.561 slash with more walks than strikeouts between 2018-19.

Bregman, 31 in March, successively hit 31 and 41 home runs over that stretch. His power production has ticked down since the ’19 campaign, which was the most homer-heavy season in league history. Bregman has hit between 23 and 26 homers in each of the past three seasons. He’d continued to post excellent on-base numbers up through 2023, though his OBP dropped last year as his walks plummeted.

The two-time All-Star hit .260/.315/.453 across 634 trips to the plate in 2024. He had by far his lowest on-base percentage since his half-season as a rookie nearly a decade ago. That was almost entirely because of a drop in free passes. Bregman walked in 6.9% of his plate appearances, nearly halving his typical 12-13% rates. He remained incredibly difficult to punch out (13.6% strikeout rate) and narrowly established a new career high with a 40.1% hard contact percentage.

Bregman started the season very slowly. He hit .216/.283/.294 with only one home run through the end of April. While his power started to rebound in May, he reached base at a meager .276 clip that month. He entered June with a .219/.280/.372 slash line that was beginning to raise questions about his earning power. He put those to rest with a fantastic finish to the season. Bregman hit .284/.337/.500 with 20 doubles and 19 home runs across his final 398 plate appearances. While the walks remained down, he managed much better batted ball results in the second half.

Over eight-plus seasons with the Astros, Bregman hit .272/.366/.483 with 191 home runs. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each valued his Houston tenure around 40 wins above replacement. He won a Silver Slugger and was MVP runner-up in 2019 and won his first career Gold Glove last season. He has been an instrumental piece of Houston’s sustained postseason success and World Series wins in 2017 and ’23. His swing is perfectly suited for the short left field at Houston’s home park. Bregman certainly hasn’t been a product of the Crawford Boxes, though. He has been essentially the same hitter on the road (.275/.362/.489) and at home (.270/.369/.476).

Bregman will have a similar home setup with the Green Monster at Fenway. He’ll reunite with Sox manager Alex Cora, who was Houston’s bench coach in 2017. While the Sox’s front office had trepidation about adding another long-term infield commitment alongside Rafael Devers and Trevor Story, they were willing to pay handsomely in the short term.

Boston had roughly $210MM in luxury tax commitments going into this evening, as calculated by RosterResource. A $40MM average annual value for Bregman would push that close to $250MM. The actual AAV won’t be quite so high, as the deferrals will drop the net present value to an extent. It’s likely that the Sox will still end up beyond the $241MM luxury tax threshold. They didn’t pay the CBT last season, so they’d only owe a 20% tax on spending between $241MM and $261MM. Even a true $40MM AAV for Bregman would only come with a $1.8MM tax hit for the Sox.

It’s the culmination of an exciting offseason for chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and his staff. The Sox opened the winter looking to add upside in their rotation. They eschewed long-term pitching investments, instead acquiring Garrett Crochet for four prospects while bringing in Walker Buehler on a one-year, $21.05MM deal. Boston signed Patrick Sandoval to a two-year contract midway through his rehab from Tommy John surgery and made a pair of one-year pickups in the bullpen (Aroldis Chapman, Justin Wilson).

Adding a right-handed bat was the one offseason goal that the Sox had not accomplished. While an outfielder may have been a cleaner roster fit, Bregman’s willingness to move off his longtime position makes this workable. The Sox intend to play him at second base, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. That made him a better fit than Nolan Arenado, who has been connected to the Sox in trade rumors for much of the winter.

Devers has been vocal about preferring to stick at third base. Bregman is a superior defender at the hot corner, but he should be athletic enough to move to the keystone for at least one season. He’d likely have spent most of his career in the middle infield had he not broken in with a team that had a Jose Altuve/Carlos Correa pairing.

That blocks the path to playing time for top prospect Kristian Campbell in the short term. The 22-year-old had a monster minor league season (.330/.439/.558 between three levels) to put himself in consideration for the second base job. Campbell seems likelier to begin the year in Triple-A Worcester now. He has played both middle infield positions and all three outfield spots in the minors, though, so the Sox should be able to find playing time for him somewhere as injuries arise throughout the year.

Campbell’s presence is probably a big reason the Red Sox kept this to a short-term commitment. Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe reports that Boston wasn’t interested in going past three guaranteed years. The tradeoff involves one of the largest per-year commitments in MLB history. The pre-deferral $40MM AAV is tied for the sixth-largest ever. It’s the second-biggest of this winter behind Juan Soto’s $51MM AAV and ties the Aaron Judge deal for third in history among position players (trailing Shohei Ohtani and Soto).

Bregman was the final unsigned free agent who had declined a qualifying offer. Boston surrenders their second-round pick (54th overall) in the upcoming draft, as well as $500K from their international signing bonus pool in 2026. They’re getting a compensatory pick about 20 spots later with Nick Pivetta signing with San Diego, so the draft capital comes out relatively close to a wash. As luxury tax payors, the Astros get the lowest compensation pick for Bregman’s departure — a selection after the fourth round, which lands around 137th overall.

Chandler Rome of The Athletic first reported that Bregman was signing with the Red Sox on a three-year, $120MM deal. Jon Heyman of The New York Post had the presence of deferrals. Ari Alexander of Houston’s KPRC-2 had the even salary structure. Image courtesy of Imagn.

The Tigers also proposed a six-year offer, as first reported by Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press. Petzold initially reported that Detroit’s offer was for narrowly above $170MM and included an opt-out clause after the second season. It had some amount of deferred money. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale specified it as a $171.5MM offer.

Detroit’s offer came with an approximate $28.58MM average annual value, before accounting for deferrals. Bregman obviously fared much better on an annual basis on the agreement with Boston. It seems as if Detroit offered the highest overall guarantee. The Astros had a six-year, $156MM offer on the table for most of the winter. While they reportedly bumped that towards the end of the process, they didn’t seem optimistic about getting a deal done.

Indeed, it doesn’t seem that Houston was even in the running by the end. Nightengale reports that the Cubs, Tigers and Red Sox were the finalists. As with Boston, Chicago only seemed interested on a short-term deal. However, they weren’t willing to match the Sox’s offer on an annual basis. Nightengale reports that the Cubs proposed a four-year, $120MM deal. According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, that would have included opt-outs after the second and third seasons.

The Tigers and Cubs would each have kept Bregman at his traditional third base position. They’re likely to turn the hot corner to young players with top prospect pedigree but little to no MLB experience (Jace Jung and Matt Shaw, respectively). Bregman is ticketed for second base work in Boston, where Rafael Devers will stick at the hot corner.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

• Pete Alonso re-signing with the Mets (1:45)
• What’s next for the Blue Jays after not getting Alonso? (9:25)
• Will the Mets and Alonso going to reunite again in the future or will this be it? (12:55)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

• What teams could still sign Alex Bregman? (17:50)
• Can the Cardinals trade Nolan Arenado to the Red Sox? (29:20)
• Do the Orioles need an ace? (37:55)
• What are the Marlins building right now? (39:30)

Check out our past episodes!

• Jack Flaherty Back To Detroit, Max Scherzer, And What’s Next For The Padres – listen here
• Ryan Pressly To The Cubs, Bregman’s Future, And Jurickson Profar – listen here
• Debating A Salary Cap, How To Improve Parity, More Dodgers Moves, And Anthony Santander – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

“Unclear,” Hoyer said when asked if another major move was coming before Opening Day. “I think you always look for opportunity, but right now we’re going to focus on the guys we have in camp. That’s the plan.”

Nightengale reports that the Red Sox, Tigers, and Astros have all made offers of at least four years to Bregman at this point, and that’s largely consistent with previous reporting that has suggested Bregman has been presented with five- and six-year offers throughout the winter. As for the Cubs, Nightengale writes that there’s been “no indication” that the Cubs would be willing to offer more than a three-year deal, but added that they could be willing to offer Bregman the highest average annual value of any of his suitors should he settle for a short-term deal.

It’s a model that the club followed to re-sign Cody Bellinger last winter when they landed him on a three-year, $80MM pact in late February, and other high-profile free agents like Pete Alonso and Jack Flaherty have had to settle for similarly short-term offers previously this winter. Whether Bregman’s market will make it necessary for him to follow that same path remains to be seen, however, and it’s easy to imagine the Cubs simply going with their internal options at the position rather than committing to a lengthy contract with Bregman.

Of those internal options, the most exciting one for Cubs fans is surely top prospect Matt Shaw. The club’s 2023 first-round pick has done nothing but hit as a professional, with a .303/.384/.522 slash line across four levels of the minors to this point in his young career. That includes a fabulous 35-game stint at Triple-A late last year, where he hit .298/.395/.534 with a strikeout rate of just 19.7% in 152 trips to the plate. Shaw’s ascent has put him firmly on the big league radar headed into the 2025 season, and it seems as though (barring a surprise acquisition like Bregman) the 23-year-old will get every opportunity to open camp with the club this spring.

With that being said, Hoyer made clear (as relayed by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers) that Shaw will have to earn the position this spring and won’t just be handed the position. While Hoyer emphasized that they don’t plan to “anoint” the rookie, it’s worth pointing out that there isn’t a clear veteran option for the hot corner should they decide to pivot away from Shaw at this point. Vidal Brujan was acquired from the Marlins earlier this winter but has less than 100 innings of third base experience in the majors and is a career .189/.261/.270 hitter. Rule 5 pick Gage Workman is viewed as a plus defender at third base and hit well for the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate in Erie last year, but he hasn’t even played at the Triple-A level before making him arguably less experienced than Shaw himself.

Perhaps veteran utility man Jon Berti is the best internal third base candidate besides Shaw, though the 35-year-old is coming off a season where he was limited to just 25 games due to injuries and would be risky to rely on in an everyday role. He’s also reportedly under consideration to back up Michael Busch at first base, suggesting his best role may be one where his versatility is leveraged to allow him to fill in at multiple positions off the bench. Further complicating the Cubs’ infield mix is the uncertain timeline of second baseman Nico Hoerner. The Cubs revealed in late October that Hoerner had undergone flexor tendon surgery without providing a timeline for his return, and the latest update on his recovery process was that he had yet to begin throwing or hitting post-surgery and that his availability for the start of the season was in question.

Given all of that uncertainty around the infield, another infielder would certainly make sense for Chicago even if they aren’t willing to extend themselves to land Bregman. Free agent infield help is scarce at this point in the offseason, however. Aside from Bregman, the best third base options available are bench pieces like Paul DeJong and Luis Urias. It’s possible a trade could be had, with Brett Baty of the Mets, Oswaldo Cabrera of the Yankees, and Willi Castro of the Twins among speculative trade candidates who could still be available at this point in the winter, but the Cubs haven’t been tied to any of those names to this point.

Until and unless the Cubs add another infielder to give Shaw more robust competition for the Opening Day third base job, it seems very likely he’ll be at the hot corner for the club when the season begins. That figures to be true even if Hoerner isn’t ready for Opening Day, as Counsell told reporters (including Jordan Bastian of MLB.com) that Shaw’s focus is on third base this spring when asked if Shaw could spend some time at second base this spring to make him an option at the keystone should Hoerner begin the season on the IL.