Alex Bregman took a calculated chance this offseason to sign with the Boston Red Sox.
It ended up working out quite well for the veteran third baseman so far.
Bregman is off to the best start of his MLB career as he entered Wednesday’s matchup with the New York Mets batting a robust .304 with 11 home runs — both of which lead the Red Sox — and 35 RBIs.
Bregman, who signed a three-year, $120 million deal with Boston which includes opt-outs after each of the first two seasons, had options in free agency but ultimately had his reasons to join the Red Sox, which his agent, Scott Boras, detailed on the latest episode of NESN’s “310 to Left” podcast.
“He and (his wife) Reagan identified that as a city they enjoyed,” Boras said, “but the real element was Alex Bregman knew going in that he sees the ball well there, he knew Alex Cora and he had really a scenario where he knew after meeting with ownership at the Winter Meetings that we had conducted in the offseason, there was a real dynamic that I think was understood to the point … but to really experience Alex Bregman day in and day out, to see is level of preparation, to see his knowledge, his insight. This is a baseball mind who happens to have the gift to be one of baseball’s great players and when you coordinate those two — in my career, you don’t get that very often.”
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Boras added: “It was a difficult decision to do what we did, but Alex Bregman bet on himself, he wanted to show a value that I don’t think could have been perceived to the level that it is now with ownership. But I worked with John (Henry) and Tom (Werner) over the years, I talked to Alex about that and said, ‘Let’s take your instincts, let’s go with what you really want to do,’ and I always believe you should trust yourself. And in this situation, we both agreed that this was a move that was going to work out to be best for both ownership, the city and certainly for Alex and Reagan.”
Much was made about Bregman’s career success at Fenway Park when he signed with the Red Sox. The 31-year-old entered this season with a 1.240 OPS at the ballpark, which was the highest among any player in MLB history with at least 75 plate appearances.
Bregman has actually performed better on the road than at Fenway this season, but all around, what Bregman has done with Boston in short order has been ultra impressive, making it money well spent by the Red Sox.
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