The Boston Red Sox are coming into this season with a new look in the infield. Caleb Durbin is taking over third base, and Willson Contreras is across the diamond at first base.
These additions come less than a year after the Red Sox paid Alex Bregman $40 million before he opted out of his deal and signed with the Chicago Cubs. Bregman was well within his right to do what he did, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t leave a sour taste in the mouth of the organization, especially when he received a no-trade clause with the Cubs.
“If Alex Bregman wanted to be here, ultimately, he’d be here,” Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy told Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. “There’s many different parts of a contract negotiation. We did not come to an agreement. So obviously, he’s a Chicago Cub and wish him well until the end of the year.”
The second part of Kennedy’s quote doesn’t hide his initial comment. While Bregman obviously had the choice of where he wanted to play, it’s certainly not Bregman’s fault that the Cubs chose to offer him $10 million more than the Red Sox reportedly offered him. This was a player that was in Craig Breslow’s and Kennedy’s backyard, and they blew it by not paying him more.
Bregman was under no obligation to take a hometown discount, and he clearly had no desire to do that. Kennedy’s comments make him sound bitter about the whole process and not being able to keep Bregman in Boston after also trading Rafael Devers.
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