Latest Alex Bregman-Red Sox Contract Talks Update: What Insider Is Hearing

The Red Sox have boxed themselves in with Alex Bregman. By trading All-Star slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants, Boston handed their third baseman a ton of negotiating leverage. So how will contract talks play out?

“The Red Sox would like to extend Bregman before the trade deadline, but it won’t be easy with Scott Boras as his agent,” The Athletic’s Jim Bowden wrote Wednesday. “And, I’m hearing, in my conversations throughout the league, if he’s not extended, they could end up trading him to Seattle, Detroit or Milwaukee.”

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was asked Thursday on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show about the latest on Bregman contract talks.

“I think ‘ongoing’ is always a fair summary, given this is something on our mind and it’s something on Alex (Cora’s) mind,” Breslow said.

“I’d say the priority over the last two months has been doing everything we can to get Alex back on the field, but I’ve been pretty outspoken about what he’s provided on the field and in the clubhouse. … He’s a guy we would like to have here in a Red Sox uniform for a long time.”

Bregman signed a three-year, $120 million contract ahead of the 2025 season. The deal included an opt-out after each of the first two years.

The 31-year-old flourished in his first 51 games in Boston, hitting .299 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs.

Despite missing more than month with a right quad strain, Bregman earned a spot on the American League’s All-Star Game roster. He was one of three Red Sox players selected. Joining him on the AL roster are Boston ace Garrett Crochet and closer Aroldis Chapman.

Bregman won’t play in the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday at Truist Park in Atlanta, Ga. But he’s close to returning to the Red Sox lineup.

While rehabbing, Bregman said he’s open to discussing a long-term contract extension with the Red Sox.

“I expected to love playing here and I have definitely loved playing here,” Bregman said last month, per Masslive.com’s Chris Cotillo. “It’s a great place to play baseball. Being able to play for this organization is awesome.”

But the three-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion said getting a deal done is “definitely a very high priority.”