How Alex Bregman’s Start Stacks Up To Recent Red Sox Sluggers’

Alex Bregman has been worth every dollar paid to him by the Red Sox so far.

Boston paid up for his premier talent, and through the first month-plus of the season, Bregman is a reminder that sometimes you can get a return on investment of the highest levels in the big leagues.

Bregman, and his unique skill set, has been Boston’s best player through 30 games. His 1.5 wins above replacement are tied with Wilyer Abreu for the team lead. But no disrespect to Abreu, who continues to solidify himself as a franchise cornerstone, but Bregman gets the tiebreaker because of the impact we know he’s also having in the clubhouse.

But when it comes to on-field performance, his Red Sox first impression has been as good as anyone could have hoped. As StatMuse pointed out Tuesday, Bregman’s first 30 games with the Red Sox have been nothing short of fantastic.

.331 batting average/.401 on-base/.570 slugging
six home runs
23 RBIs
11 doubles (second in MLB)
40 hits (third in MLB)

If that sounds like one of the better starts to a Red Sox career, that’s because it is. As former Red Sox public relations expert J.P. Long noted Tuesday night on X, there are just two players in franchise history with 40 hits, a .400 on-base and more than five home runs in their first 30 games with the club. One of them is Bregman, and the other is Manny Ramirez.

Manny Ramirez was really good!

The interesting thing about Bregman’s start is that while he has lived up to the hype, he hasn’t exactly fulfilled the narrative about him joining the Red Sox. While he’s been no home slouch, Bregman’s early-season road numbers are actually outpacing his Fenway Park performance. That said, he has a .935 home OPS and a 1.000 road OPS, so it’s not that big of a deal … but there’s also reason to believe he could get even better.

On top of that, and where Bregman separates himself from a lot of the players in the graphic above, is what he’s been able to do with his glove. After an uncharacteristically shaky start, Bregman has steadied the ship at third base, where he currently ranks third among all third basemen with three defensive runs saved.

That obviously has solidified an important position, allowing Rafael Devers to serve as the designated hitter. And for reference, Devers finished last season with minus-9 DRS, a metric in which he never finished a season with a positive number.