Red Sox reportedly made huge blunder in Alex Bregman contract talks

The Boston Red Sox were viewed as the favorite to keep Alex Bregman all throughout free agency right up until he signed with the Chicago Cubs. A new claim suggests the Red Sox overestimated their position, and it cost them dearly.

Former MLB catcher AJ Pierzynski claimed on the “Foul Territory” podcast that the Red Sox made Bregman an initial offer and refused to increase it, even when Bregman’s camp suggested that his market value was higher than what was being offered. When Bregman received his 5-year, $175 million offer from the Cubs, the Red Sox essentially thought he was bluffing.

“They made an offer to Alex Bregman early in the offseason, and his camp kept going back and saying, ‘That’s not our market. Our market’s higher than that,'” Pierzynski said. “It made Alex a little bit mad, and they would not move. The Red Sox were like, ‘Take it or leave it.’ They would not budge.

“Bregman’s camp goes back to them and says, ‘Hey, we have a higher offer and we’re going to probably take it.’ The Red Sox were like, ‘We don’t believe you. If you can do it, do it.’ (Bregman) said, ‘Okay, we’re going to sign. We’re not telling you the number. We’re going to sign with a different team.'”

At that point, the Red Sox took the threat seriously enough to increase their offer to 5 years and $165 million. That still did not match the Cubs’ offer.