Red Sox sign Alex Bregman

[drewski6]

Just now, notin said:

Ive said it before somewhere, but if I was Bregman’s agent, I’d flat out tell him if he opted out, I’d drop him as a client.

For all te crazy clickbait rumors out there for $150-200mill deals, players coming off season’s like Bregman’s seem to sign make-good pillow contracts more often.  Well, he is unlikely to find a pillow softer than $40mill, and he’s unlikely to gain interest from a tea that plays in a park Hes more suited to than Fenway…

Thats not how it works.  As an agent you dont drive like this.  Bregman might want stability over max dollars.  You listen first, as an agent.  They tell you what they want, you help them get it or as close as possible.

[Jasonbay44]

4 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Thats not how it works.  As an agent you dont drive like this.  Bregman might want stability over max dollars.  You listen first, as an agent.  They tell you what they want, you help them get it or as close as possible.

His agent is also Scott Boras. There is a 0% chance Boras would act like that. 

[drewski6]

8 minutes ago, Jasonbay44 said:

His agent is also Scott Boras. There is a 0% chance Boras would act like that. 

I assure you Boras didnt get to where he got by not listening to his clients. More likely Boras is willing to be seen as the bad guy and shielding his clients from fan-frustration from clients demanding more money, but its the client driving.

There have been a few exceptions Im sure. I think I remember Dice-k telling Boras to chill.

[Jasonbay44]

24 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I assure you Boras didnt get to where he got by not listening to his clients. More likely Boras is willing to be seen as the bad guy and shielding his clients from fan-frustration from clients demanding more money, but its the client driving.

There have been a few exceptions Im sure. I think I remember Dice-k telling Boras to chill.

There is a reason so many big name players are represented by Boras. He listens to his clients, is a good agent for them and will get them what they want more times than not if possible.

If Boras threatened to drop Bregman if he opted out, not only is Bregman dropping him, it would ruin Boras reputation, something as an agent you really don’t want. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Jasonbay44 said:

His 2nd half performance has to have derailed his value at least a little 

It goes beyond this second half, which is actually just a month.

He was horrible for much of the start of 2024 and has shown serious regression since way back in 2019:

He had a 157 OPS+ from 2018 to 2019, then...

117

113

134 (not bad in '22 but still far from '18-'19)

122

116

126

2020-2025: 122

He turns 32 at the start of the 2026 season.

[Bellhorn04]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

I assure you Boras didnt get to where he got by not listening to his clients. More likely Boras is willing to be seen as the bad guy and shielding his clients from fan-frustration from clients demanding more money, but its the client driving.

There have been a few exceptions Im sure. I think I remember Dice-k telling Boras to chill.

So did A-Rod when he had the opt-out situation with the Yankees.

[illinoisredsox]

I'm more concerned about the leak about Bregman opting out.  The timing was horrible.  Why then?  

The leak smacks of Boras thinking he's got the Sox over a barrel and maybe I can force a longer term deal.  I just don't see Bregman leaking the plans, even if it's that's what he wants to do.  If he did, then he's not the team first guy he purports to be and maybe he should move on.   I don't think the market is going to be what they think it is.

[drewski6]

2 minutes ago, illinoisredsox said:

I'm more concerned about the leak about Bregman opting out.  The timing was horrible.  Why then?  

The leak smacks of Boras thinking he's got the Sox over a barrel and maybe I can force a longer term deal.  I just don't see Bregman leaking the plans, even if it's that's what he wants to do.  If he did, then he's not the team first guy he purports to be and maybe he should move on.   I don't think the market is going to be what they think it is.

I mean - we just saw this last year.  Bregman turned down a very fair offer from his Astros the team he has been with through all those memories to chase max dollars.  Now, I dont think its fair to suggest that this makes him not a team guy.  Team guy has to do with helping teammates and being positive influence on the team, which he will, even if he is unwilling to take a discount.  But if Bregman was willing to turn down a fair contract from the stros because he thought he could get more, hed do it to us too.

If he does opt out, and lean towards he will....Then we may have to let him play the market. Either he gets something that we were unwilling to give him from like the Tigers or maybe back to the Stros or one of the teams that love to splash money around, we cant be mad.  But theres also a chance he comes back looking to negotiate with us.

[illinoisredsox]

14 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I mean - we just saw this last year.  Bregman turned down a very fair offer from his Astros the team he has been with through all those memories to chase max dollars.  Now, I dont think its fair to suggest that this makes him not a team guy.  Team guy has to do with helping teammates and being positive influence on the team, which he will, even if he is unwilling to take a discount.  But if Bregman was willing to turn down a fair contract from the stros because he thought he could get more, hed do it to us too.

If he does opt out, and lean towards he will....Then we may have to let him play the market. Either he gets something that we were unwilling to give him from like the Tigers or maybe back to the Stros or one of the teams that love to splash money around, we cant be mad.  But theres also a chance he comes back looking to negotiate with us.

Did he publicly turn it down during the season and say I'm going to free agency though?  I don't know.

Most guys just say they are not negotiating during the season and if they do, it's very private.  Announcing the intention late in the year is weird.  

[moonslav59]

18 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I mean - we just saw this last year.  Bregman turned down a very fair offer from his Astros the team he has been with through all those memories to chase max dollars.  Now, I dont think its fair to suggest that this makes him not a team guy.  Team guy has to do with helping teammates and being positive influence on the team, which he will, even if he is unwilling to take a discount.  But if Bregman was willing to turn down a fair contract from the stros because he thought he could get more, hed do it to us too.

If he does opt out, and lean towards he will....Then we may have to let him play the market. Either he gets something that we were unwilling to give him from like the Tigers or maybe back to the Stros or one of the teams that love to splash money around, we cant be mad.  But theres also a chance he comes back looking to negotiate with us.

$156M/6 was HOU's reported offer. That's kinda like what Story got, when you factor inflation.

DET supposedly offered him $172.5M/6, so the HOU offer kinda seemed low.

I think he might get $150M/6 or $135M/5, this winter- tops.

[Bellhorn04]

I think he gets hot with the bat again starting today.

[mvp 78]

25 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I think he gets hot with the bat again starting today.

From your lips to his bat. 

[notin]

6 hours ago, drewski6 said:

Thats not how it works.  As an agent you dont drive like this.  Bregman might want stability over max dollars.  You listen first, as an agent.  They tell you what they want, you help them get it or as close as possible.

That is how it works.

Bregman clearly does not want stability over max dollars. He hired Scott Boras for a reason, and like all Boras clients throughout history (with the exceptions of Jared Weaver and Carls Gonzalez), that one reason was to get BOTH max dollars and long term stability.

Agents give advice and take direction from their clients.  But if they go against your advice, you are under no obligation to stay in their employ.

Bregman might want stability, etc.  But his agent might also feel that Bregman’’a weak second half won’t get him the deal he wants, and therefore it is unwise to walk away from FORTY MILLION DOLLARS for one year.  Plenty of players in Bregman’s position have taken one term deals to re-establish their value.  No team is going over $40mill for one year.  His best deal is the one he already has.

And his agent has every right to advise him thusly and drop him if it doesn’t work out.  His real agent might not do so, but he certainly can if he wants to…

[notin]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

$156M/6 was HOU's reported offer. That's kinda like what Story got, when you factor inflation.

DET supposedly offered him $172.5M/6, so the HOU offer kinda seemed low.

I think he might get $150M/6 or $135M/5, this winter- tops.

Hes a year older, coming off a weak second half, and going to cost a draft pick.  At least one team will save a ton of money and a pick and sign Eugenio Suarez, who is only two years older…

[notin]

7 hours ago, Jasonbay44 said:

His agent is also Scott Boras. There is a 0% chance Boras would act like that. 

I didn’t say Boras would do it.  I said I would.

See, it’s not so much a statement about how agents act but rather one about how stupid it would be for Bregman to opt out this year.

I cannot believe I had to explain that…

[notin]

11 minutes ago, notin said:

Hes a year older, coming off a weak second half, and going to cost a draft pick.  At least one team will save a ton of money and a pick and sign Eugenio Suarez, who is only two years older…

Bregman’s second half - .246/.329/.382.  Not counting today.

It’s just one year, really one half of one year.  But he turns 32 next March and the $25-30mill AAVs for players his age coming off injury are rare.  It’s not like he’s Aaron Judge when healthy.  
 

If (when, let’s face it) he stays for one more year, gets paid $40mill, and then gets a presumably shorter and cheaper deal next year, but it will probably be the overall more lucrative and stable strategy.  I doubt he gets a 5 year $125mill deal this year, but a year from now can he get a 4 year $88 mill deal?

[moonslav59]

Things are a lot tighter than we wanted.

The Guardians actually have a shot to catch DET for the ALC division title, but either way, our top competition is CLE or maybe DET, SEA or NYY. The Yanks play tonight, but all other meaningful games are over, today.

Here is the breakdown:

85-67 NYY (WC1)

85-68 DET (ALC or WC2)

84-69 HOU (T ALW/WC2, as of now)

84-69 SEA (T ALW/WC2, as of now)

83-70 BOS (WC3, as of now)

_____________________

81-71 CLE -1.5 (1 in loss column)

_____________________

79-74 TEX -4.0 (pretty much out of it)

76-77 KCR -7.0 (hanging by a thread)

75-78 TBR -8.0 (the thread is thin)