Breslow acknowledges Bregman disappointment, but keeps focus on Plan B

BOSTON -- After learning that Alex Bregman accepted a five-year, $175 million contract from the Cubs instead of an aggressive offer the Red Sox had made recently, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow processed his disappointment and then got ready to pivot to acquiring that one final impact bat to round out a solid lineup.

When you are in Breslow's position, spending excess time dwelling on what could have been isn’t a productive exercise. Especially when the start of Spring Training is less than a month away.

“Any time you are active in trying to bring a player in, it’s disappointing to lose out,” Breslow said Sunday as part of a Q&A with MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “We do this job because we are competitive and we want to deliver a championship to our fans, and falling short in a pursuit is an obstacle to that.”

The magnitude of the obstacle of losing Bregman will be determined in part by what Breslow’s counter move is. Signing Bo Bichette, the top infield free agent left on the market, would be the most obvious pivot. But there is a competitive market for securing his services, and Breslow will keep an open mind.

“It’s going to sound redundant, but we’ll be open to any way to improve our team,” Breslow told Cotillo. “Free agency is an obvious path, but so are trades. We will try to continue to add offense, but leaning into pitching and defense is another way to boost our win total."

Sources told MLB.com that Boston’s last offer to Bregman was for five years at $165 million. However, there were other differences between the two offers. The Cubs offered a full no-trade clause. The Red Sox did not. The deferrals included in the package from the Cubs will pay out significantly sooner than the ones offered by Boston.

Cotillo asked Breslow why he thinks Bregman, who was effusive about his love for playing in Boston throughout last season, decided not to stay. Breslow declined to confirm if the Red Sox have a club policy against no-trade clauses.

“Without getting into the specifics of the negotiation, Alex and his family earned the right to decide where they want to spend the next five years of his career,” said Breslow. “And while we had hoped it would be here, we respect the right they’ve earned. It would be foolish or unfair for me to guess what was most important in their decision-making.”

Bregman, who signed a three-year deal with the Red Sox just 11 months ago, exercised the first of two opt-outs in that deal back in November.

Bregman's decision to leave after the first year has left Red Sox Nation revisiting the merits of the decision to trade star slugger Rafael Devers to the Giants in June. Though Devers got along with Bregman, he was upset that the Red Sox asked him to move to DH so his new teammate could play third.

When Triston Casas suffered a season-ending injury in early May, Breslow asked Devers if he would consider moving to first base. Devers declined. Owner John Henry made a special trip to a Red Sox-Royals series in Kansas City to intervene, to no avail. Devers was traded a month later. With hindsight being 20-20, how does Breslow feel now that Bregman and Devers are both gone?

“Rather than spend a ton of time on the particulars of these cases, what is most important is: 1) how we respond to improve our roster in the near term; and 2) how I can learn from the experiences and allow that to inform how I approach the role going forward,” Breslow said. “Neither outcome we face right now is ideal, but both will be evaluated over a longer time horizon.”

Social media has been on fire with ire from fans since Saturday night’s news that Bregman is gone. What is Breslow’s message to the masses who are obviously upset?

“I'm not going to gloss over the impact that Alex had on our season,” Breslow said. “He is a great player with strong leadership presence in our clubhouse. But this job requires balancing long- and short-term interests and making the best decisions for the organization, difficult as they may be. It means losing out on good players sometimes.

“However, while we will enter the ’26 season with different personnel, there will be no less resolve to compete for the division and make a deep postseason run. I believe in the group we have while we keep working to find ways to add to it. Our goal is to deliver to our fans the season that they deserve.”