
It's pretty clear and obvious what the biggest question facing the Boston Red Sox is right now.
Will the organization find a way to ink Alex Bregman to a new contract this offseason once he opts out of his deal? In a perfect world, the answer would be yes. But, there are no guarantees. Bregman hasn't officially hit the open market yet, but it has been reported over and over again that he's going to opt out and he will have suitors outside of Boston.
ESPN's David Schoenfield weighed in on each of the top free agents across baseball with "best fits." For Bregman, Boston unsurprisingly was deemed the top option. But, Schoenfield listed three other fits as well.
"Other possible fits: Tigers, Yankees, Phillies," Schoenfield said. "Bregman's contact ability makes him a likely fit for the Tigers -- and he'll be too expensive for the Brewers. The interesting long-shot candidates would be the Yankees and Phillies.
"The Yankees have Ryan McMahon under contract, but he posted a .641 OPS after coming over from the Colorado Rockies at the trade deadline and his strikeout issues are a concern. The Phillies have Alec Bohm in his final year of team control, but Bohm produced just 1.3 WAR in 2025 and the Phillies are a little tired of his lack of postseason production (.225, 2 HR, 14 RBIs in 38 playoff games). Bregman's fire might be what the Phillies need."
If the Red Sox were to lose Bregman, it would be devastating in general. He ingrained himself in the Boston fanbase right away and was a significant reason why the Red Sox made it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
On top of this, the Red Sox's signing of Bregman helped to lead to the drama with Rafael Devers. Boston started Kristian Campbell at second base, kept Bregman at third base, and moved Devers to DH, which led to plenty of drama and eventually a trade that Boston fans know all too well. If you then lose Bregman on top of that, the fallout would not be good.
Then, if he specifically were to land with the Red Sox's biggest rival in the Yankees or an American League foe in the Tigers, it would just make things even worse. It would obviously be tough to lose Bregman to Philadelphia, but at least it is in the National League and the Red Sox wouldn't have to see him again all the time.
The best-case scenario is still getting something done with Bregman as fast as possible to minimize the risk of outside suitors. Also, then the Red Sox could better plan their offseason knowing they have the slugger in town.
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