Are the Red Sox again acting like a big-market MLB club that once defined the ownership era led by John Henry? A $120 million free-agent deal for infielder Alex Bregman suggests that may be the case.
Bregman, previously a two-time champion with the Astros, agreed to a three-year contract with Boston late Wednesday, according to multiple reports, after becoming the most notable free agent left in a chilled player market. The pact, though it contains opt-outs after each of the first two years and some deferred money, features a $40 million annual salary that ties Bregman for fourth highest among all MLB players.
More broadly, the agreement also heralds a more aggressive thinking by the Red Sox. The club’s luxury tax payroll is now nearly $237 million, the seventh highest in the league, after ranking 12th last year and in 2023. The Red Sox are now poised to play the 2025 season with the highest payroll in franchise history, and ultimately end up over the $241 million luxury tax threshold for this year.
Back to the Past
Such activity is a marked turn for a team that became notably less aggressive in its spending over the past five years and saw stars such as Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts leave either by trade or free agency after failing to come to terms on new contracts.
That dynamic, in turn, has made for one of the most complex team-fan relationships of any MLB franchise. On one hand, the 23-year Henry era has included the end of the famed Red Sox championship curse, three additional titles, the highly regarded restoration of Fenway Park, and more than $120 million in charitable foundation grants—a combined legacy that any team would be proud to boast.
More recently, however, the loss of icons such as Betts, reduced payrolls, and three straight non-playoff seasons have introduced a whole new level of unease among Red Sox fans.
The addition of Bregman, however, could certainly help ease that angst, and even before the deal was formally announced, local media was cheering the development.
“This is a strong move by the Red Sox,” wrote venerable Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy. “They have finally rewarded their fans. Just like the old days.”
In December, the Red Sox also traded for pitcher Garrett Crochet in a large-scale deal with the White Sox and added fellow hurlers Walker Buehler and Aroldis Chapman in free agency.
