Alex Bregman and the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a $120 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday night.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.
Bregman can opt out after the 2026 and 2027 seasons to become a free agent again. He might need to shift from third base to second with the Red Sox, who already have All-Star slugger Rafael Devers at the hot corner.
A two-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion during nine years with Houston, the 30-year-old Bregman is coming off one of his poorest offensive seasons. He hit .260 with 26 homers and 75 RBIs in the final season of a $100 million, five-year contract, also winning his first Gold Glove.
Bregman has 19 postseason home runs, tied for sixth in major league history. He was selected by Houston with the second overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft, made his big league debut a year later and hit .284 with 19 homers, 71 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 2017.
He had four homers and 10 RBIs in the postseason as the Astros won their first World Series title, a championship marred when a Major League Baseball investigation revealed the team used banned electronics to steal opponents' signs.
Bregman had RBIs in his first five World Series games, homering off Clayton Kershaw in the opener and Kenley Jansen in Game 4, and hitting a walk-off 10th-inning single against Jansen in Game 5.
Bregman was fifth in AL MVP voting in 2018 and second to Mike Trout in 2019, Bregman's two most productive years at the plate. He batted .286 with 31 homers, 103 RBIs and a major league-leading 51 doubles in 2018, then set career highs the following season with a .296 average, 41 homers, 112 RBIs and a major league-leading 119 walks.
He walked just 44 times this year with a 23.6% chase rate, his highest since 2017.
Bregman has a .272 average with 191 homers and 663 RBIs in nine big league seasons.
Because he turned down a $21.05 million qualifying offer from the Astros, they will receive an extra pick after the fourth round of the amateur draft in July. Houston forfeited its second- and fifth-highest selections for signing Christian Walker. Boston will lose its second-highest pick for signing Bregman and forfeit $500,000 of international signing bonus pool allocation.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Ronald Blum, The Associated Press
